ESSENCE Fest Dream Team: Kelly Price

We put Kelly Price in the hot seat and asked her who she’d like to tribute at the 2014 ESSENCE Fest this Fourth of July in New Orleans. If you’ve ever heard Kelly Price’s rendition of Shirley Murdock’s “As We Lay,” you already know she can slay a cover, but her admiration for the singers who paved the way for her is so strong that she couldn’t pick just one person to tribute.

“I would want to tribute Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Patti LaBelle. And I would want to have Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Fantasia, Keke Wyatt, wait who else is out there squalin’? Ledisi! C’mon (snaps fingers!) you know! You know! I’m trying to make sure that I’m not missing anybody…Lalah Hathaway.

This is when you start naming people and you get yourself in trouble when you forget somebody. I would literally want to pull together everyone from low range to high range. I should’ve included Anita Baker in that tribute too! And these women, just amazing women. Oh my God! Gladys Knight! What am I crazy? Yeah, which means I really didn’t answer your question because I’m being really indecisive. But I think about these women with these amazing, lush, thick powerful soulful voices. I would love the opportunity to bring it on the microphone with my singing sisters from my generation and give it to ‘em.”

Kelly Price is gearing up to release a new album, Sing Pray Love Vol. 1: Sing on June 3rd. You can check out the lead single “It’s My Time” here.