Essence Festival organizers have taken responsibility for a concert that ran so far behind schedule that Lauryn Hill wound up taking the stage at around 2:30 in the morning. Delays completely derailed the opening day of the 31st annual event, which returned to the Superdome in New Orleans this past …
Read More »Alex Isley Has the Perfect Voice for R&B's Soft-Girl Era
2025 could be the year of gentle giants in R&B: Summer Walker’s icy “Heart of a Woman” has been inescapable on Black radio, marking her biggest solo hit since her mainstream breakthrough six years ago. Over the past few weeks, British singer Cleo Sol’s airy hymns landed her sold out …
Read More »SZA Is at Her Most Streamlined and Direct on 'Lana'
SZA knows how to make an entrance. She had the world fiending so hard for her new Lana — first she announced the album drop for Friday at midnight, then kept everyone chewing our fingernails while she took an extra 15 hours to give it the right finishing touches. But …
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