ESSENCE festival goers were treated to an epic line-up of performances by Common, Missy Elliot, Erykah Badu and Usher. Check ‘em inside and peep our newest MASSIVE gallery of YBF celebs invading New Orleans inside….
The 2015 ESSENCE Festival went down with a BANG last night as celebs and festival goers celebrated Independence Day in a major way.
Sexy Chi-town rapper Common was the opening act at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to kick-off an epic night of performances. For the first time, the Oscar winner performed his own set on the main stage. And he was super excited about it.
In the press room, the handsome rapper/actor chopped it up about few projects he has in the works. He’s gearing up to star in a musical drama film (directed by Wu Tang Clan’s RZA) titled Coco. Raptress Azealia Banks will lead the film as the title character Coco and neo-soul songstress Jill Scott is also set to star in the Lionsgate film.
Common will also be making a splash in a new superhero film Suicide Squad, Warner Bros.’ all-star action movie featuring DC Entertainment super-villains. He will be starring opposite Will Smith and Viola Davis. Sweet!
He also set to begin filming for Gerard Butler's Film Hunter Killer this month.
Next up on the stage….
Erykah Badu treated festival goers with her sultry vocals and deep lyrics as she rocked the stage performing her classic hits.
During her set, she wowed the audience with ESSENCE’s first global cover…ever. And she SLAYED like no other as she posed it up in the motherland for the breathtaking cover.
Check it:
It leaked online a few days ago and we have it! Check it out HERE if you missed.
Hip Hop veteran Missy Elliot blessed the ESSENCE Festival stage with her timeless bangers, such as “Hot Boy and “Work It.”
As she hit some dance moves and spit her bars, Missy decided to get up-close-and-personal with her fans joining them in the audience as she turned up. Soon after, the raptress brought out Jazmine Sullivan and she KILLED her performance, per usual.
Once Missy’s set was over…fans were NOT happy! Not because she didn’t do a good job, but because they wanted MORE! Fans were pissed and started boo’ing as she exited the stage. Yikes!
Peep her high-energy performance below:
And last, but not least....
R&B crooner Usher came to slow it down and end the concert on a melodic note, serenading the audience with cuts like "OMG," “Nice & Slow” and “Love In The Club.” He also brought out Wale for their track "Matrimony."
The “Good Kisser” singer made quite the statement when he hopped on stage in a “Juneteenth” t-shirt with “July Fourth” crossed out. On the back of his leather jacket, the slogan“Have we truly achieved our independence?" Yes! Subtle stances are better than NO stance at all.
Check out Ursh killing it on stage below:
Work!
The "Empire" crew was on the scene for the festivities and were spotted tearing up the front row during Missy's performance.
Fab chicks Angela Simmons and Sevyn Streeter looked gorgeous as they made their rounds.
Sevyn chopped it up with the media in the press room where she revealed she’s releasing new music July 17 on a new LP titled, Should’ve Been There. She said she wasn’t in the best place when writing the new tracks, so she felt the only way to move forward would be to air out her frustrations and address some of her issues on wax. Not mad.
EXTRAS:
1. TheYBF.com spotted Avengers star Anthony Mackie and his wife Sheletta Chapital (who recently got married) zooming through the Superdome…and guess what? The newlyweds are PREGNANT! Congrats to the couple!
Click through another massive round up of YBF folks at ESSENCE festival, including Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Solange and MANY more in the gallery below. And make sure to check out our Instagram page (@TheYBFDaily) for INSTANT coverage!
Photos: Paras Griffin/Getty/Splash/INF