With the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture only a few weeks away, people across the country are preparing this monumental event taking place in the amazing city of New Orleans from July 4 – 7. The opening night of the Evening Concert Series at Caesar’s Superdome features a star-studded lineup of amazing performers, including its headliner, Birdman, who will be celebrating “30 Years Of Cash Money.”
Hosted by Pretty Vee and Punkie Johnson, with sounds curated by DJ Raj Smoove, Friday includes something for everyone, regardless of one’s music palette. In addition to the main event, the night also includes a highly-anticipated set from Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and producer, Raphael Saadiq. Attendees can also catch a medley performance from The Roots, who will incorporate sets with country star Mickey Guyton, songstress Ari Lennox, and the iconic T-Pain.
For a huge dose of hip-hop, Busta Rhymes will hit the stage to deliver several of his hits during a career spanning over three decades. Jacquees, who is currently signed to Bryan “Birdman” Williams’ Cash Money imprint will perform as well, adding a bit of traditional R&B to the evening’s mixture of sounds.
The ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola® will take place July 4-7. For more information and updates on the festival, visit our website and follow us on social media @ESSENCEFest on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ahead of next month’s celebration, let’s take a look at who’s performing Friday night at the 2024 Evening Concert Series at Caesar’s Superdome.
Bryan Williams, better known by his stage names “Birdman” or “Baby,” co-founded Cash Money Records with his older brother Ronald “Slim” Williams in 1991. In addition to being a member of The Big Tymers with Mannie Fresh, Williams also released four solo albums—Birdman (2002), Fast Money (2005), 5 * Stunna (2007), and Priceless (2009).
Apart from his direct releases, Williams is best known for his discovery of B.G., Juvenile, Turk, and Lil Wayne, collectively known as The Hot Boys. As label-head of Cash Money Records, he has been central to the career and commercial success of Wayne, as well as future signees including Drake and Nicki Minaj, who were signed under Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment.
With his set at the 2024 ESSENCE Festival of Culture’s Evening Concert Series celebrating “30 Years of Cash Money,” attendees will have plenty of surprises to look forward to.
Saadiq rose to fame as a member of the multi platinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In the 1990s. In addition to his solo and group career, he has also produced songs for such artists as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Total, D’Angelo, TLC, En Vogue, Kelis, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi, Whitney Houston, Solange Knowles and John Legend.
In 1998, Saadiq departed from his group following the release of their final studio album House of Music. The following year, Saadiq contacted Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Dawn Robinson to form a new supergroup, and the three began recording an album under the name Lucy Pearl. In 2017, Saadiq was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the song “Mighty River” from the Netflix film Mudbound.
Fresh off of the success of this year’s Roots Picnic, the Philadelphia-based collective continues to stake their claim as one of the greatest groups of all-time. Known for their jazzy and eclectic approach to hip hop featuring live musical instruments, the group’s work has consistently been met with critical acclaim. Now, they serve as the house band for the popular late night talk show on NBC, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Joining The Roots on Friday is the country star Mickey Guyton, who incorporates elements of contemporary country, pop, and R&B within her music. In 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, Guyton released the single “Black Like Me”, which speaks to her experiences as a Black woman in country music. The song helped further elevate Guyton’s career and resulted in her first ever nomination at the Grammy Awards, becoming the first Black woman to ever be nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category.
Hailing from Washington, D.C., Ari Lennox was the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole’s imprint, Dreamville Records. Throughout her career, she’s released two critically-acclaimed albums—Shea Butter Baby (2019) and Age/Sex/Location (2022). She’s been nominated for several awards by Soul Train and the NAACP, as well as a Grammy nomination for her appearance on the compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III.
Rounding out The Roots’ set is T-Pain, who burst onto the scene in 2005 with the single “I’m Sprung.” Since then, he’s appeared on nine Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles, including “Good Life” and “Blame It,” which won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance, respectively. Known for popularizing the usage of auto-tune T-Pain remains a pioneer in the music industry.
Busta Rhymes was an original member of Leaders of the New School, eventually going solo after a few years with the group. He released his first solo album The Coming in 1996, which contained the successful single “Woo Hah!! I Got You All In Check.” Throughout his 30-year career, Busta released 11 solo projects, including 2023’s Blockbusta, and has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards.
This Georgia native has been making music for almost two decades. Following the success of his first EP I Am Jacquees, he again released an independently distributed project, 19, which debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums. The EP gained the recognition of Birdman, prompting the latter to sign him to his imprint, Cash Money Records. With three albums, five EPs, and a slew of singles under his belt, the singer continues to shine in the spotlight.
