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…
Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images Superstar model Naomi Campbell has announced the arrival of her second child, a baby boy. The 53-year-old announced the news on Instagram Thursday with a photo showing her holding the baby and another hand, assumed to be her daughter’s, also holding onto the newborn’s hand. “My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond…
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Jada Pinkett Smith announced Thursday she’ll be releasing a new tell-all memoir this October — and she’s determined to tell the true story of her life. “On October 17th, I invite you into a journey that, understandably, many think they already know,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing the cover of her new book, Worthy. “The fact that I have,…
