ABOVE PHOTO: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JULY 06: Usher performs onstage during Day 2 of the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola at Caesars Superdome on July 06, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for ESSENCE)
By Kharisma McIlwaine
Thousands of people from all over the world came to New Orleans to celebrate the 30th birthday of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture. The three-day festival took place from July 5-7th.
ESSENCE pulled out all the stops to ensure that this year’s monumental celebration was one to remember. As presenting sponsor since 1995, Coca-Cola offered attendees a full lineup of events including the “Simply Experience, Talks in Thirty” panel discussions, a Smart Water booth, a first appearance of the cast of “If Not For My Girls,” cooking demos and samplings with Alex Hill, Nyesha Arrington and Donnie Stykes in the Coca Cola Kickback Kitchen, as well as live performances by JT, Lady London, Keyshia Cole and Philly’s own Musiq Soulchild.
AT&T Dream in Black took part in the celebration of culture kicking off the festivities on July 4th with several activations happening throughout the weekend, which included a panel discussion with “Untold Stories” winner David Fortune and AT&T Rising Future Makers, which recognized 25 Historically Black Colleges and students making an impact in their respective schools and communities.
The AT&T BeSpoke Event featured local culinary artists and panel discussions with AT&T assistant vice president of workforce diversity Dr. Chloe Lemelle, New Orleans and Company director Raquel “Rocky” Dufauchard, and Academy Award-winning actress Danielle Brooks as well as a performance by New Orleans native Ambré. The AT&T Dream in Black connected stage featured artists paying tribute to the 90s, 2000s, and 2020s with Jadakiss headlining on day one, while paying homage to the 90s, Jeremih headlining on day two for the 2000s, and a celebration of the 2020s with Mya headlining and closing on day three. The activation also featured performances by Kevonstage, Cari Champion, Arin Ray, Affion Crocket, and more.
SWV
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
ESSENCE Festival of Culture is known for bringing a star-studded lineup of actors, creators and performers directly to their fans — this year was no exception. Dara Reneé, singer, actress, and star of Disney’s “Descendants: The Rise of Red” (set to be released on July 12 on Disney+) shared her enthusiasm for attending and performing at her first Essence Festival.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so grateful,” Reneé said. “I’ve dreamed about being here since I was a little girl. So, the fact that Disney allowed me to come and I get to do what I love — it’s truly an honor”
Reneé also described her enthusiasm for taking on the role of a villain with her character Uliana.
““Descendants: The Rise of Red” is basically describing why the Queen of Hearts became evil, and I play the villain of the franchise, so maybe I have something to do with it,” she said. ”First of all, it’s so fun to play a villain — it’s kind of better than playing the good guy a little bit. It’s really crazy getting that perception of “hurt people, hurt people” and how villains are often misunderstood. I try to find comfort in knowing that Uliana is just a young girl going through puberty who doesn’t know what she’s doing, and her sister is Ursula, which is hard to compete with.”
Jason Michael Fordham, Mandie Taketa, Maile Brady and Wayne Brady
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
A family affair was the theme on the red carpet with multi-hyphenate talent Wayne Brady, his daughter Maile Brady, and ex-wife Mandie Taketa, i.e. the cast of “Wayne Brady: The Family Remix.” Brady said that the experience of letting the world tune into the full scope of his family life is “amazing, horrible, awesome, crazy, the best, the worst… it’s family.”
Maile Brady shared her joy about the experience.
‘‘Working with my parents can be a lot of fun — we’re enjoying it, we’re enjoying our trip,” she said.
Actress Taja V. Simpson stopped by the red carpet to discuss all things “The Oval” and its upcoming 6th season on BET.
“Priscilla Owen is the resident staff supervisor and so she runs The White House. She’s married to a character named Sam who is the head of the Secret Service. However, Sam slept with the first lady and there’s a lot of drama that ensues from that,” Simpson said. “Everyone wants me to give Sam a second chance, but I say no.”
Vice President Kamala Harris
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
“We have a new season coming out Season 6, I think around October — they haven’t released the date,” Simpson said. “This season for Priscilla is such a great one. I’m super excited, because you will see a whole other side of her. I can’t wait! You will see her more in charge, more running things — more than ever!”
The ESSENCE Film Festival brought out a wide array of talent, including Philadelphia’s own Harold Williams, creative producer, writer and creator of the short film “Bros Propose,” which had its debut at ESSENCE Festival.
“Bros Propose” came up out of real-life experience,” Williams said. “One of my brothers got engaged and I started to experience a lot of feelings. I really wanted to tell a story about brotherhood and that Black men do support each other in love — we do coach each other in love. We do proposals and bachelor parties, so I wanted to tell that aspect of the story.”
Rich McCann, who stars in the film, explained his own perspective on brotherhood.
Victoria Monét
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
“For me, I think it’s a beautiful thing for brothers to come together and take that next step in life,” McCann said. “To be able to tell that story was fun. It was fun to show this side of being a Black man.”
Brilliant Black women filmmakers were also heavily present at the ESSENCE Film Festival. Fox Rich and her husband Rob Rich, known for the Oscar-nominated film “TIME” which chronicles their time in prison and the aftermath, premiered their second installment of the story — “TIME II: Unfinished Business” — at the festival.
Fox Rich, who directed the film, spoke about why it was important to candidly share the good, the bad, and the ugly of their story as well as their quest to create reform in our justice system.
“I just needed our people to know that when we fight, we really can win,” Rich said. “I needed it to not just be words coming from my lips — I needed them to see. That’s what this film is about for me… our understanding that for us to be free, we have a duty and obligation to free others.”
“I think my biggest motivating factor is the fact that I left so many other deserving men behind,” Rob Rich, who spent 21 years incarcerated added. “Men that were there for crimes that they didn’t commit, some for crimes far less in terms of the crime that I was convicted for. Many of them were overly sentenced == with that being said, I know that they deserve an opportunity to be back on this other side.”
Frankie Beverly being honored at the ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ Presented By Coca-Cola®
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
Civil Rights attorney and filmmaker Nia Weeks shared stories of Black women across the diaspora in the premiere of “SHEShowsUp” directed and co-produced by Damien D. Smith.
“SHEShows Up” is a pilot of a TV show where we travel around the world interviewing incredible Black women who have done incredible things, and the untold stories of who we are globally,” Weeks said. “The pilot episode was filmed in Ghana, West Africa, so anyone who comes to see it, you get to meet Queens from Ghana.”
Powerful Black women were present on every stage including the Global Economic Forum, where Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a discussion called “Chief to Chief” with ESSENCE Ventures President and CEO Caroline Wanga.
“If you were to be talking to them about what their power can do for Black[s], through the lens of the chiefs, that they are of their community, and you knew that it was what you say that will make them do what’s right for them, what do you tell these chiefs about what they need to do with that power in 122 days?” Wanga asked the vice president.
Mýa
Photo credit: Getty Images for ESSENCE
“You’ve already said it, but it bears repeating all the time. You, we, have extraordinary power, and we can never let anybody take our power from us, and never be shy about our power,” Harris replied. “We must encourage in each other ambition. Ambition is a good thing. It is good to know one’s power, and then to go for what you want, knowing you can achieve it. That is very important. We do not need to step quietly and never let the circumstances that we know, we experience — whether it be pay gaps or anything else — make us feel small or alone.”
Philadelphia native Tiffanie Standard, founder and CEO of Stimulus, Inc. also graced the stage at the Global Economic Forum, leading a conversation on the many ways her company and others can use AI.
“We focus on really using AI to make a better experience for buyers and vendors,” Standard said. “When we work with large companies, we’re looking at how do you diversify who you’re working with. Are you working with women of color and more women in general? And making sure that as they’re building these businesses, people are buying their product and services.”
For those interested in the world of beauty, BeautyCon offered attendees everything imaginable. From onsite demonstrations, full-sized giveaways, and activations with opportunities to interact with celebrities like LeToya Luckett, Serena Williams, and Ryan Destiny — there was something for everyone.
Colleen Green, senior brand manager for Vaseline, shared her enthusiasm for Vaseline’s long history with the Black community.
“Vaseline has a rich history with the African American consumer in the US,” Green said. “It’s the number one AA brand, with over 150 years of history, and our petroleum jelly is the original skin healing protectant.
Global hair brand Mielle Organics transported attendees to a stunning world of pink botanical beauty in their Mielle Verse activation.
“We are so excited to be here at ESSENCE,” said Noel Roberts, assistant vice president of marketing for Mielle Organics. “We’re celebrating 10 years of curl confidence, and our booth is a vibe. You’ll see some surprise guests and we’re so excited to continue to bless our consumers with amazing products and amazing curls.”
Each year, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture curates an incredible lineup of musicians from all genres that are beloved within the Black community. This year’s lineup included New Orleans’ own Cash Money with Birdman and Friends, also celebrating 30 years in the business headlining on day one. Cash Money took over for the ‘99 and the 2000 with Birdman, Juvenile, Manny Fresh, and B.G. in attendance. Lil Wayne’s presence was missed, but the nostalgia of that era prevailed.
Day 2 featured performances from legends Usher and “Uncle” Charlie Wilson. Usher, who recently was honored with The BET Lifetime Achievement Award for his 30 years plus in the music industry, serenaded audiences with hits from his platinum album “Confessions,” while Charlie Wilson at 71 left it all on the stage with his vocals and performance proving once again why he has a 50-year plus tenure of success in the music business.
Day 3 featured dynamic performances from the ladies of R&B. SWV performed all of their hits to an enthusiastic crowd. Victoria Monét gave fans flawless vocals and choreography, as well as a surprise guest performance from Lucky Daye. The legend herself, Janet Jackson, who is currently on her “Together Again” tour, continued celebrating her 51 years in music and entertainment, performing hits like “Control,” “Alright,” “Rhythm Nation” and more.
The last night of performances on the main stage ended with a tribute to icon Frankie Beverly (who recently retired in Philadelphia) featuring performances by Jagged Edge, Anthony Hamilton, Luke James, and the new lead singer of Frankie Beverly and Maze, Tony Lindsay.
ESSENCE Fest did not only provide opportunities for legends but made room for newcomers to shine. Country singer Reyna Roberts, who was featured on Beyoncé’s “Black Biird” on “Cowboy Carter” was thrilled for the opportunity to attend and perform at AFROPUNK during the festival.
“My parents played all genres — they played country, blues, trap, gospel… they played everything,” Roberts said. “So all of that music lives in me. I feel like this is my purpose in life. I feel like God gave me a mission, I’m on that mission and I feel like if people didn’t understand what was happening before, they definitely know what’s happening now.”
This year’s ESSENCE Festival of Culture gifted attendees with an opportunity to celebrate Blackness, sisterhood and cultures in a myriad of ways. The love and camaraderie amongst all in attendance was palpable and unmatched. Happy Birthday ESSENCE Festival of Culture — cheers to 30 years!
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