DAY FOUR: DAYTIME EXPERIENCE
Sunday, July 2nd was the last day of the Daytime Experience at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
- Ginuwine brought the heat during a surprise performance at the Coca-Cola activation. They also had Dr. Robyn Merrick of Southern University and Dr. Bobbie Knight of Miles College to discuss the state of HBCUs and how to create an environment where black students thrive!
- At AT&T’s Dream in Black activation, they had a performance by emerging artist, Mali Music in the morning. Later in the afternoon the CEO of Harlem’s Fashion Row, Brandice Daniel, hosted a fashion show featuring designers like Rich Fresh, Undra Celeste, and more. During the fashion show, attendees were treated to a performance by rapper, Wale.
- Radio personality and hip-hop artist, Angie Martinez, stopped by the Main Stage. The Hall of Famer sat down to discuss ‘The Heartbeat of Hip-Hop’ with Refinery29’s Chelsea Sanders, in partnership with Target.
- Rapper, Jeezy, stopped by the ESSENCE Authors area to discuss his first book that is releasing in August, Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe.
- Across the street at the Sugar Mill, Essence Girls United had a GU Creator House where artists like Flyana Boss and influencers like Fannita and AliyahsInterlude made an appearance. The activation also had free custom airbrushed t-shirts and hats, tooth gems, Instagram-worthy photo booths, insightful panels, and a networking hour!
DAY FOUR: NIGHTTIME EXPERIENCE
I wish I had a time machine to go back and experience Muni Long’s ESSENCE Fest performance again. She’s no newbie to the industry – the singer-songwriter has been behind the scenes penning for artists like Selena Gomez, Rihanna, Madonna, and Ariana Grande! But now it’s her time to shine and the Florida native did just that. She opened the final day at the Caesar’s Superdome with a timeless performance of her hit, “Time Machine.” She ended off her set covering Usher’s “U Got It Bad” before leading into her Grammy award-winning song, “Hrs & Hrs.”
Throughout the weekend, they were multiple curated group performances highlighting different regions and eras that impacted hip-hop throughout the last 50 years. But on Sunday, it was definitely ladies’ night. In Real Life: 50 Years of Women in Hip-Hop hosted by Angie Martinez included performances by Mia X, Eve, Remy Ma, Salt-N-Pepa, and Trina! And it included some unforgettable moments like Salt-n-Pepa performing on stage for the first time in years with Spinderella; New Orleans’ own Mia X’s performing “The Party Don’t Stop” and her verse on “No Limit Soldiers”; a rare performance by Eve where she showed she hasn’t lost her touch as she shined in a glittery black and silver jumpsuit.
Nigerian singer-songwriter, Tems, was next to grace the stage. Previously, she and Wizkid were scheduled to perform at the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture. An explanation was never released as to why neither of them showed but they made up for it this year. She opened with a melodic performance of “Higher,” the song Drake sampled for his track, “Wait for U.” For 30 minutes, the Afro-R&B singer dished her angelic vocals and delivered effortless riffs. She performed “Damages,” “Free Mind,” and of course closed out with “Essence.”
Typically in between sets, fest-goers can be seen moving around to get food and drinks but it was evident a lot caught wind of the rumor of a surprise performance taking place as thousands stayed in place after Tems left the stage. And they were not disappointed. After a DJ played a few tunes, the music cut abruptly, the lights went down and the words “Lil Wayne” appeared on the screen in red. He caused quite an uproar, pun intended. The New Orleans’ native performed a full set including hits like “A Milli,” “Mrs. Officer,” “Hustler Musik,” “Uproar” “6 Foot 7,” and “The Motto.” ESSENCE couldn’t celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop while in New Orleans’ and not have Weezy take the stage.
DJ Tunez, Wizkid’s touring DJ, opened by playing a set jam-packed with Afrobeat classics and top hip-hop and R&B hits. After DJ Tunez warmed up the crowd, Wizkid took the stage. The Grammy-Award-winning artist took the crowd through his discography – from his part of Drake’s “One Dance” to his songs “Mood” and “Come Closer” to his part of Beyoncé’s “BROWN SKIN GIRL.” Throughout his set the Afrobeats hitmaker kept the crowd engaged by leading singalongs and winding to the beat. As the set began to wind down, Tems joined Wizkid on stage for an unforgettable performance of “Essence” at ESSENCE Fest.
Who better to finish off The 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture than the Houston hottie herself, Megan Thee Stallion? The 3x Grammy Award-winning artist closed out the show, beginning with “Her,” off of last year’s Traumazine album. She also performed records such as “Plan B,” “Simon Says,” “Big Ole Freak,” “Free Nasty,” and more. This isn’t my first rodeo – I saw Megan Thee Stallion in 2019 at Lil Weezyana Fest and again in 2021 at Austin City Limits so expectations were high. She met and exceeded! I was quick to take note of how insane her breath control was as she danced and spit bars effortlessly for an hour. And in true Megan fashion, she invited hotties on stage. To the crowd’s surprise, some of the shakers ended up being familiar faces including Janelle Monáe, Flyana Boss, and influencer Cristian Dennis. She ended off the set with high-energy performances of “WAP,” “Savage (Remix)” and “Body.”
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