New Orleans’ annual Essence Music Festival has announced its 2018 lineup. Taking place July 5-8 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the festival boasts an all-star lineup including Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, and The Roots. Mary J Blige was recently nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Mudbound for Best Supporting Actress. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame shortly after. Erykah Badu made headlines earlier this year about her controversial remark towards Adolf Hitler. In an interview with Vulture Magazine, Badu stated that she “saw something good in Hitler,” which caused a social media frenzy. Janet Jackson was recently announced as a headliner for San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival in August and LA’s FYF Festival in July.
Other acts on the lineup include Miguel, girl-groups XSCAPE, and SWV, and rising R&B stars H.E.R. and Daniel Caesar. XSCAPE performed at the festival last year, but due to fans getting denied access to their set for the room being at full capacity, they decided to give fans another chance to see them this year. Daniel Caesar’s album Freudian was nominated for “Best R&B Album” at The Grammy’s this year as well as Best R&B Performance for his song “Get You” featuring Kali Uchis.
Snoop Dogg, Ledisi, Fantasia, Idris Elba, Doug E Fresh, Kelela, Blackstreet, and Kool Mo Dee are also set to play.
The three-day festival is in its 24th year, drawing more than 500,000 attendees every year filled with music, entertainment, empowerment, and culture. In previous years, the festival has had some great names, including Beyonce, Kanye West, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.
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