Music Monday: We Want New Music from These Past Essence Fest Performers

In the 20 years of ESSENCE Festival, we have had some amazing acts bless our stage. Some give us music consistently and some that take decade-long breaks. Remember when Maxwell stepped back on the scene with BLACKSummers’ Night in 2009 and promised we would get three albums in three years? Well, Maxwell, we are still waiting on the final two albums of the trilogy.

Where has Janet Jackson been hiding? What happened to the comeback album we were supposed to get from D’Angelo? Brian McKnight has been quiet lately as well. The Roots, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott are performing on the Mainstage this year. Wouldn’t it be great to get new albums from them, too?

From artists that have been around for years (Raphael Saadiq and Faith Evans) to those who were just on the brink of super stardom (Melanie Fiona and Jazmine Sullivan), here’s a list of our favorite songs by past ESSENCE festival perfomers that we would love to get new music from in 2014.

Who are some of your favorite past ESSENCE Festival performers that you would love to get a new album from this year?