ABC The accolades just keep rolling in for Rihanna…even without releasing a new album in over seven years. The Grammy winner made Spotify history July 1, becoming the first female artist to have 10 songs reach 1 billion streams on the music platform. Rihanna reacted to the milestone by sharing the news with her 108 million Twitter followers and 152 million followers on Instagram.…
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ESSENCE Sheryl Lee Ralph, Taraji P. Henson, Oprah Winfrey and Vice President Kamala Harris are just some of the many stars who participated in daytime activations at Essence Festival of Culture this past weekend. But at night, fans packed Cesears Superdome to party with a few hip hop icons during this year’s evening concert series and the festival’s celebration of 50 years of hip…
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for ESSENCE Essence Fest is back! The beloved festival of culture celebrating all things Black will be hitting the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, this weekend. In its 29th year, the premier fest brings the Black community together for a few days of Essence-powered events, activations, workshops, panels and more. The coveted evening concerts will include performances…
Def Jam Recordings Coco Jones is taking her talents on the road with her newly announced What I Didn’t Tell You Tour. Opening in Ontario on August 5, the 16-city U.S. and Canada tour will make stops in Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles and Phoenix, among other cities, before its final stop in Norfolk in September. The…
From long-awaited collaborations to new reggae tracks and love songs from R&B icons, check out this week’s New Music Friday for the culture’s latest & greatest in music. —The Weeknd ft. Lil Baby & Suzanna Son, “False Idols” — Ahead of the series finale of The Weeknd’s HBO show, The Idol, he dropped off this long-awaited Lil Baby collab and a second new…
Island Records Legendary Jamaican musician Bob Marley will release Africa Unite, a posthumous album featuring his greatest hits. A fusion of reggae and Afrobeats, the ten-track project blends some of the icon’s most beloved songs, like “Waiting In Vain” and “Three Little Birds,” with the contemporary sounds of popular African musicians Tiwa Savage, Teni, Sarkodie and more. “Africa Unite is an album that showcases the importance of Bob Marley…
MGM The new movie Surrounded shows us a side of old west we don’t normally get to see on film. The well-reviewed movie, out now for digital rental, tells the fictional story of Buffalo Soldier Mo Washington, a Black woman in 1870 who had to pass as a man in order to travel west to lay claim…
Rick Kern/Getty Images A Texas grand jury has declined to indict rapper Travis Scott and five others in connection with the deadly crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston, prosecutors said. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the grand jury on Thursday, June 29, concluded that there is not enough evidence of guilt to support criminal charges, as reported by ABC News.…
Generation Now/Atlantic Records Lil Uzi Vert made their long-awaited return to music Friday with the release of their new album, Pink Tape. After a three-year hiatus, Uzi unleashed the highly-anticipated project which boasts features from Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Don Toliver and a couple of others. The 26-track album includes the viral Jersey club anthem “Just Wanna Rock” and “Spin Again,” the track Uzi previewed during…
Photographer & Director: Olivia Malone If there’s one thing Alicia Keys will do, it’s prioritize a healthy mind-body connection. What the 15-time Grammy winner won’t do is cover her face in makeup. It doesn’t matter what the event or occasion is, Keys takes pride in leading a beauty life in line with the standards she sets for herself. In…
