Latest news with #EssenceFest
Axios
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter VI" arrives
After a nearly seven-year wait since "Tha Carter V," Lil Wayne fans finally get to listen to the next installment of the rapper's series with Friday's release of "Tha Carter VI." Why it matters: Lil Wayne remains New Orleans' most influential modern musician. What they're saying:"You got to think like how people study Bach and Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Shakespeare," rapper Wyclef Jean told Andre Gee for Rolling Stone. "He's going to be regarded as one of the greatest renaissance wordsmith composers of our generation. Between the lines: It's not like Lil Wayne hasn't been busy since 2018. In just the past few years, the famously prolific artist has collaborated with fellow New Orleanian Rob49, Doja Cat, Nas, Jack Harlow and alongside 2 Chainz for an entire album. He's also made stops at home in New Orleans, dropping in for a surprise appearance at Essence Fest. It's hard to overstate how much Lil Wayne has accomplished since he was a young boy growing up in Hollygrove, begging for a chance to be on Ronald "Slim" Williams' and Bryan "Baby" Williams' Cash Money Records. That relationship helped Lil Wayne become a star, pairing him up with the Hot Boys and providing a platform from which he leapt into the stratosphere. Since then, Lil Wayne etched his way into rap history with his own style, which he has reinvented again and again. Meanwhile, he created his own label, Young Money, through which he signed stars like Drake, Nicki Minaj and DJ Khaled. Yes, but: The scope of his entrepreneurship can be overlooked, a fact that doesn't seem to bother him much. As Wayne told Gee for the Rolling Stone piece, "I'm fine being the best rapper, and then you just found out, 'Oh s—, he owns [Young Money]? Oh, he put Drake out? Oh, my God.'" Zoom in: "Tha Carter VI" is reportedly set to include an eclectic list of collaborators, including Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Bono, Wyclef Jean and even Andrea Bocelli, who decided to sign on after hearing about how Wayne accidentally shot himself when he was 12 years old. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, also receives production credit. The first single, "The Days," dropped this week as part of ESPN's promo for the NBA finals. The intrigue: Lil Wayne is touring to support the album, with a string of dates that doesn't include his hometown.
Black America Web
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Old Clip Of Michelle Obama's Honesty About The Struggles Of Raising Kids Ignites Gender War
Source: Tom Williams / Getty Since leaving the White House in 2017, Michelle Obama has been pretty honest about her time as a First Lady. But lately she's been digging deep into another role a lot more women can relate to: having a husband. She even hosts a podcast, titled IMO , with her brother Craig Robinson, but the internet is up in arms about a conversation she had three years ago. Back in 2022, Obama was part of an Angie Martinez-hosted Revolt round table where she was joined by Winnie Harlow, Kelly Rowland, H.E.R., and Tina Knowles. This was around the time her book The Light We Carry was released, which focused on overcoming uncertainty in her career, marriage, and motherhood. While chatting about the book, she reveals that despite Barack Obama eventually becoming president, they had a hard time adjusting to life with kids, like everyone else. 'But the minute we had kids, it was like, 'Where are you going, and how far?' And you start measuring, it's like, 'How many diapers did you change?'' Michelle says, of the unfair split of labor with Barack. 'And 'oh, you're golfing? Oh, you got time? Oh, you got time to golf? How you at the gym all the time?'' The other women chime in with agreement as Michelle continues about the working dynamic and the stress of young kids. 'That's when all the measuring starts, because you got this project,' she said. 'Little kids, they're terrorists. They have demands, they don't talk, they're poor communicators, they cry all the time, they're irrational, they're selfish, and you love them more than anything, and so you can't blame them, right?' She goes on to explain that the lesson she learned was that marriage isn't 50-50, and they both push and pull at different points in the relationship. This isn't the first time Michelle has been candid about working through the kinks in her marriage, which she had brought up previously during Essence Fest in 2019. Despite their busy lives, she remembered getting mad at Barack for making time to go to the gym. 'This was right when we started going to counseling,' Obama said. 'And I think for us as women, many of us, we have a hard time putting ourselves on our own priority list, let alone at the top of it.' Michelle Obama talking about the details of her marriage is great for other couples to see that relationships take work and aren't picture-perfect. B ut social media has taken offense to her statements, accusing her of complaining about being married to a busy man and airing out their dirty laundry on podcasts. See below how the latest gender war is erupting on social media. Old Clip Of Michelle Obama's Honesty About The Struggles Of Raising Kids Ignites Gender War was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Axios
07-04-2025
- Axios
New Orleans to increase security for festival season
Expect to see more road closures and security measures for French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest and Essence Fest this year, New Orleans leaders advised Monday. Why it matters: Authorities want to prevent another terrorist attack like the one on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day. The big picture: Most of Bourbon Street will be closed to vehicles this weekend for French Quarter Fest, authorities said at a press briefing Monday. The side roads will be closed as well, plus there will be additional vehicle barricades and checkpoints throughout the Quarter. South Peters Street will remain open, though. Authorities also will monitor air quality for radiation and use drones and surveillance cameras to keep an eye on the crowds. What's new: New Orleans police have a new festival uniform this year. Sadly, it's not as festive as it sounds, but authorities say it will help officers cope with the heat better. The uniform is a polo-style shirt and lightweight pants that can zip off into shorts. They are similar to uniforms worn by officers on bikes, NOPD assistant superintendent Hans Ganthier says. The shirt colors vary depending on the officer's department and rank. Zoom in: Mayor LaToya Cantrell confirmed the city is continuing to address weaknesses identified by anti-terrorist consulting firm Teneo and "all of our partners," but she declined to say what they were.
Axios
28-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
NFL requires controversial agreement for cities hosting the Super Bowl
New Orleans is dipping its toes yet again into a brewing philosophical and legal debate with the NFL over so-called clean zones. Why it matters: Clean zones give the league much more control over what happens in town during the Super Bowl. In exchange for handing over that authority, cities get the moneymaking opportunity to host such events. But critics say the rules infringe on free speech and businesses' ability to operate. The big picture: Clean zones are used across the country as essentially a non-compete option for big events such as the NCAA Final Four, Essence Fest and other moneymakers. They limit street vendors, exterior marketing and outdoor festivities in the specified geographic zone during a certain timeframe. New Orleans leaders use these zones to help entice organizers to host their multimillion-dollar events in the city. It was part of their bid for the Super Bowl. How it works: If there's a clean zone in effect, street vendors must apply for a special permit to operate. There are also dozens of rules about outdoor marketing, tents, signs and other elements that would "enhance local aesthetics," a document says. The geographical parameters can change, but in New Orleans they usually include much of the CBD and French Quarter. The rules can be big, like not granting a festival permit in the French Quarter during Super Bowl, or small, such as requiring delivery trucks to paint over their tire logos because they weren't made by Bridgestone, the official tire of the NFL, ESPN wrote. The tire example actually happened in Houston in 2017. The friction point: Clean zones have been getting more pushback locally and nationally over free speech and constitutionality concerns, ESPN reported. The city has been sued at least twice over the clean zones for previous Super Bowls and French Quarter Fests, wrote. Phoenix was sued last year over the restrictions, ESPN reported. In 2023, Baldwin Books made headlines when Essence Fest sued it and an event organizer, saying they violated the clean zone rules. A First Amendment lawyer who was involved in a 2013 Super Bowl clean zone lawsuit told Verite's Katie Jane Fernelius that he has concerns about this year's Super Bowl, namely the geographic size and the requirement that political speech and protests occur in a cordoned-off area. The other side: Walt Leger, president and CEO of New Orleans & Co., says the clean zone is misunderstood and doesn't stop businesses from doing things that are already covered in their current permits. It's meant to protect intellectual property and to keep, for example, a business such as Coke from doing guerrilla marketing near the Caesars Superdome when Pepsi is the NFL's official sponsor, he said. The NFL also cites this example, saying Budweiser, which was not a league partner at the time, was doing pop-up marketing near the Super Bowl in 1999, prompting the need for more rules, ESPN reports. "I understand why people get upset about it, but it's confusing to me why it's become such a hot button issue," Leger tells Axios New Orleans. The fine print: The Super Bowl clean zone is in effect from Feb. 3 to Feb. 11 and includes parts of the Central Business District, French Quarter, Treme, Tulane-Gravier, Mississippi River and Algiers. It also includes Caesars Superdome, the Smoothie King Center or the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Violators can be fined and/or arrested. Read the ordinance. Go deeper: Essence Fest drops lawsuit against Black-owned bookstore over author event Watch the City Council discussion about the clean zone
