To New Orleans, With Love: My Essence Festival/NOLA Love Affair Part III

Well folks, we've made it to the end of my 3-part series about my experience in New Orleans for the 2017 Essence Festival. In this installment, I wanted to share my overall thoughts and opinions of my experiences as a whole while attending Essence and while being in New Orleans.

What Essence Means to Me

As far as Essence goes, I was absolutely ENCHANTED by the Festival! I have never in my lifetime ever seen that many blank people in one place at the same time. And especially, that many black people in peace, love, genuine happiness and easiness. It was a beautiful sight and one that I won't soon forget!

The Essence Festival is truly for black people, what Mecca is for Muslims. I went to Essence proud of my blackness, but weary of the issues I encounter every day on social media and in the news, and in my daily life that affect myself and my fellow black people. It was refreshing and awesome to be in a "safe space" of support and understanding. I have no words to describe that feeling. It's for that reason, that I encourage EVERYONE to go to Essence at least once in their lifetime. You truly won't regret it!

The theme of this year's Festival was "Stay Woke". It was the subject of many of the panel discussions, speeches, and even musical performances throughout the 3-day weekend event. It was encouraging and uplifting to hear the commentary of so many musicians, actors/actresses, personalities, and celebrities speak on the subject of police brutality and excessive force, and other black issues in such a candid and honest manner. It really helped our unity as a people, and inspired many of us to be more open and work toward positive solutions to these issues.

What NOLA Means to Me

Aside from beignets at Cafe Du Monde, sazerac and hurricane cocktails, muffaletta sandwiches, shrimp po'boys, and jambalaya, New Orleans is so much more! This city is truly like no other place in the United States, or the rest of world! The music is beyond comparison! The energy there is like nowhere else. The people there are jewels! They are so authentic, laid back, happy, and real. I love them all!

The nostalgia and history found in the architecture and landmarks there is like nowhere else in the country. You can just walk the streets and can visualize a day in the life in a century past. Don't let the humidity and heat keep you from enjoying this city! And a stroll down Frenchmen Street or Bourbon Street on a clear night never hurt nobody.

This adventure last month marked my second trip to the beautiful city of New Orleans, Louisiana. My visit took place when I was 15 years old during my sophomore year of High School while on an orchestra trip. I loved the city back then, but obviously didn't experience NOLA in all of its forms being underage and under heavy supervision.

Then Katrina happened....

I was 22 when this situation occurred and I spent an entire day watching CNN's coverage of Katrina on three Friday before Labor Day. Seriously. All. Day. I was MORTIFIED by the images i saw of bloated, dead bodies floating in Lake Pontchartrain, people on their roofs waving for help in the heat, and other horrific stories and images that I will never be able to erase from my memory. This wasn't a third world country. This was home, here in the US.

Ever since 2005 when all of this happened, I have been wanting to return to New Orleans to see the aftermath of my beloved New Orleans, in hopes of seeing how well the city has progressed.  I've studied this catastrophe, read about it, watched multiple documentaries, etc. Circumstances have prolonged my return to this fair city, but a primary goal of my time while in New Orleans was to explore and learn the truth about NOLA post-Katrina. And boy did I get it!

While there, my cousin and I took a wonderful bus tour of New Orleans. Our tour guide was a New Orleans native and she played no games about speaking the truth about what has and has NOT happened in rebuilding restructuring New Orleans since Katrina. I came for the truth and she blessed me with it!

Here are some videos from that portion of our tour, regarding the crisis and aftermath of Katrina.

This footage is from the 17th St Canal. After our tour was finished, before exiting the bus i asked her if we were in the 9th Ward? She said "no, we are not allowed to take you there unless we have a permit. They don't want you to see it. "

If that is not a sign of how little has been done there, then i don't know is.

I hope that these posts have entertained and informed you about the Essence Festival. And even if you can't make it to Essence next year, definitely put it on your bucket list for the future! Similarly, whether you go to New Orleans for Essence, Mardi Gras, Halloween (yeah apparently that's a big deal there), or just for the helluvit, GO! 

For more info about the Essence Festival, go to their website at http://www.essence.com/festival-2018. 2018 Dates are already up y'all! See ya in NOLA, baby!

Things I Learned at Essence: My Essence Festival/NOLA Love Affair Part II

Here are just a few of the things that I learned at Essence 2017.  Enjoy.

PS: These are in chronological order of the Festival, not in order in importance. Carry on.

 

1. I learned again how much I love India Arie! In my humble opinion, before the current Natural Hair Movement and promotion of loving our melanin, she was the original modern-day champion for black women and girls to love themselves and the skin they're in. Her wisdom, positive energy, and overall promotion of loving ourselves transcends her young age.

2. Diana still has it!!! With all of her glory and all of her feather boas and sequins from not one, not two, but all three of her costume changes during her performance, Diana Ross still proved at Essence that she is still the original "slay" icon (and diva) she always has been. At one point during her performance, she literally called out the lighting person backstage to turn down the lights as she said "every time I turn around, I'm getting blinded!" It was incredible, and the entire audience was here for such divality, divaness, and divatude! Thank you Miss Ross for being yourself.

3. Brands like State Farm, Ford, Walmart, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Disney, and more proved that they support Essence in a big way! All of these mentioned brands had HUGE booths set up on the conference floor, showcasing new products, their branding, and freebies. Through their presence and even the branded reusable bags depicting natural hair-wearing black women that many of these companies distributed, these brands (and their marketing departments) were definitely in the building! I am always a believer that we should support brands that support us, and I'm taking notes. I see y'all!

4. Ava Duvernay is like the epitome of Black Girl Magic to me! I love her, and her commentary about being woke, being true to her vision and her identity as a black person in her film-making were chicken soup for the soul to other creatives. Keep up the good work Ms. Duvernay. You're amazing!

5. For two days straight, I tried harder than a mug to take a photo of Kofi Siriboe, and every time, barely got anything worth showing. Each time I saw him, I was within 20 feet of him and couldn't get a clear shot of him through my camera lens. SMH I'm still upset about it. Every time he would enter the convention center floor, screaming and running women would come flocking, and phones would be drawn at the ready to take a picture! Instead of Beatle-Mania, let's call it Kofi-Mania! And in case you were wondering, yes, ladies, he is just as fine in real life as he is as Ralph Angel on Queen Sugar. Lawd, he is a beautiful creation!

6. Representative Maxine Waters, AKA Auntie Maxine, is a powerhouse! She had the entire audience on their feet ready to contact their congresspeople to impeach Donald Trump AKA Your President, AKA 45. Just like any black woman over 60 years of age, she really ain't here for the BS! At all.

7. Michael Eric Dyson is a helluva speaker! He had the crowd hanging on to every word he said as if we were in church and the preacher was hooping to the sound of an organ playing chords in response in the background! I knew he was going to be great, and he didn't disappoint! I love him!

8. Rev. Al Sharpton is really smelling himself these days, as if those IG workout, skinny-man- selfies weren't an indication of that already. He looked good in his tailored suit as he strutted to and from the podium of the stage. And yes ladies and gentlemen, his head looks way too big for his head. Nonetheless, I enjoyed hearing him speak and I appreciated what he had to say.

9. Yara Shahidi is my adopted play little sister! Sorry everyone, I've claimed her! She is wise beyond her years. Her intelligence,woke-ness, and eloquence in the delivery of her answers during a panel discussion with Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Lynn Whitfield had everyone in the auditorium looking at her in awe and with pride. She even had Spike Lee speechless and sitting there in shock, which I don't think any of us have ever seen before, especially on the subject of "being black and woke in the film industry." Everyone in this panel is exceptional, but Yara was the scene-stealer, if that's even possible for a panel discussion. 

10. Iyanla Vanzant really will change your life, folks. It's true. I "seent" it! Although her entrance into the huge auditorium of the Ernest Morial Convention Center was beyond extra, it did add a certain excitement to her presentation. She spoke about the importance of having a "Spiritual Code of Conduct." Although her hour-long presentation contained a LOT of beneficial and powerful truths, here are some of my notes I took from her speech:

- "Do not think that just because it hasn't happened yet, that it won't happen."

- "A spiritual code of conduct says that you MUST have boundaries and consequences. Don't be afraid to hurt people's feelings."

- "Stop thinking that you have to work hard for your blessing."

Iyanla said that information about her Spiritual Code of Conduct that she spoke on can be found on her website, www.innervisionsworldwide.com . Here is the full speech from Essence's YouTube page. You're welcome.

11. I have sworn FOREVER that I was NOT a fan of Mary J Blige, but when I saw her perform at Essence, I realized that I am a MJB fan! Huuuuuuunney, I had no idea how great of a live performer MJB is until I saw her at Essence! I thought hat her little "MJB Shuffle" as I call it (you know, her signature, awkward side-to-side move) was going to be all that a live performance from her would entail, but boy was I wrong! She is an amazing performer! I was singing the words to all of her songs. During her set, I kept feeling like I owed her an apology, like I needed to say "hey girl, I'm sorry I've been blaspheming your good name over the last 20 years, about your dance move and your sad then happy then sad again music. My bad Maaaaary *in my Jackee' Harry voice*." If you get the chance to see her perform, DO IT! You WON'T be disappointed!

12. Chaka, Chaka, Chaka.... Chaka Khan was beautiful and I loved seeing her live as she has had such an outstanding and legendary career. However, Chaka doesn't really sing anymore. She squeals, and lets her backup singers and the audience do the heavy vocal lifting of her songs. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some Chaka Khan so this didn't disappoint me. I'm just making an observation, and her squeels weren't bad. They were like extended long, whole notes. She clearly can still sing because she wasn't shrieking, but she didn't sing too much during her 30-minute set. She is an amazing scatter though! She was joined on stage at the end of the night by MJB, Jasmine Sullivan, and Lalah Hathaway to sing "I'm Every Woman", which was awesome and Chaka gave an excellent scat performance. Lalah and Jasmine also killed the stage with their scatting abilities also.

13. Master P is an excellent businessman, a loving father, and a decent 90s rapper, but a hype man he is not. SMH Master P was clearly excited about hosting a No Limit Records Reunion at this year's Essence Festival, similar to that of the Bad Boy Record Reunion from last year. That being said, it wasn't the best performance ever. It dragged, and had a lot of long empty spaces of silence between performers and songs. Everyone in the crowd felt embarrassed for our beloved Master Percy, but it did pick up as performers Mia X, Chopper, Mystikal, and big surprise, Snoop Dogg performed hits on the stage. I should also mention here that Trina made a guest appearance which was waaaay too short!

14. Silkk the Shocker didn't really remember the words to his songs. I know it's been a good 20 years since he's probably performed live, but c'mon man! You had about two songs to perform, and it was clear that you were struggling. I just sat there cringing, thinking "c'mon baby, what is you doing?"

15. When did Mystikal become FINE?!?!?!??!?! Seriously, Mystikal is hot now! I had no idea and I never really saw it until now. He was our eye candy for the evening.

16.  Chance the Rapper will take you to church at his concert, LIT-ER-ALLY! My cousin, Tisha was surprised by how religious he was during his performance. He was winning souls for Jesus Christ, and I was here for all of it! There's something really special about seeing a young man, and a young black man at that, at the top of his game in his budding career, who is not afraid to speak the gospel! Thank you Chance for being you. keep doing what you're doing, and clearly God is going to keep blessing you for it. God bless you.

17. Solange is OUTSTANDING! In her music videos from the Seat at the Table album, she has shown that she is more of a performance artist than a traditional Pop/R&B entertainer, and that creativity and theme was reflected in her performance at Essence. It was fascinating, beautiful, artistic, unique, and beyond anything you could have ever seen coming! She is the personification of a FREE BLACK WOMAN, who doesn't give a damn about what you, your grandmama, your mama, or anyone else thinks or expects of her! And I freaking love that about her! You go Queen! Do you, Boo!

18. Tweet is awesome! She is a superb live vocalist and she is a classic example of the fact that "black don't crack"! I love her, and she did an amazing set with many of her songs from her latest album, Charlene, which is excellent by the way.

These are just some of the things that I learned at this year's Essence Festival. Be sure to tune in next week for my last post about the 2017 Essence Festival and experience in NOLA. It will be a full recap about what the festival means to me, and my fascination, admiration, and genuine love for the city of New Orleans and its residents. Until next time, ciao!