Written by Michael Thervil
Whore Culture Twerk Contest at Essence Fest
There used to be a time when you thought of “Essence Magazine” you thought of Black American beauty and Black American sophistication. Ever since its conception in 1970, it has been a beacon of light for Black Americans across a wide spectrum on income levels. It literally didn’t matter if you were wealthy or poor, there wasn’t a black household in the United States that didn’t have at least 2-3 copies of Essence Magazine in them. In fact, for many Black People across America Essence Magazine along with Jet magazine were considered collectors’ items. Essence Magazine was considered historical in the eyes of American Black People.
However, since Essence Magazine broke its tradition of being a “Black Owned and Operated Magazine” in 2000 with 49% of clarence smith and ed Lewis’s stake in the magazine being sold to time inc., with the other 51% stake of Essence Magazine being sold to time inc 5 years later; that’s When things began to go downhill. But it would be until roughly 18 years later that Essence Magazine would be resold to a Black American by the name of Richelieu Dennis in 2018. It was reported that Richelieu Dennis sought to purchase Essence Magazine so that he could “Empower Black Women”. But in light of recent events at the Essence Festival held this year (2023), one can’t help but wonder if Essence Magazine is empowering Black Women or simply in the business of making money off them.
The reason why we are presenting this question is because of Essence Magazine’s choice of “performers'' at this year’s Essence Fest. How does Essence Magazine think that it's empowering for Black Women to be empowered by engaging in a “Twerk contest” as what was once known as a prestigious event. If that's what essence calls “Black Women empowerment” they might as well section off the “performance aspect” of the festival with lap and table dances and a strip pole. How is it empowering for Black American women to engage in twerk contests but not empower women to obtain husbands and build families thus building healthy strong Black Communities while American Black People are already considered a permanent underclass in America.
Janelle Monáe - what people do for attention.
When it comes to performances, we take issue with several “Artists” if you can call them that, whom of which appeared at the festival. The first being Megan Thee stallion, who was not only a stripper, but was involved in a shooting in which she was shot by her intimate partner Tory Lanez. This demonstrates poor judgment on behalf of both Essence Magazine and Megan Thee Stallion whose songs are generally trash to begin with and doesn’t fit the narrative or vision of Richelieu Dennis “Empowering Black Women”. Then there was Salt-N-Pepper and Doug E. Fresh; two has been acts with no real relevance in today’s world of music. We think that, if Essence Magazine wants to really help Black Music Artists, they could have shed that spotlight on and broken in new and up and coming Black Music Artists with relevant lyrics and vocal skills of today.
Then there was Janelle Monáe – showing her breast as usual on stage just to garner a check and some publicity. Furthermore, the addition of Rapper Trina of all people who is no longer relevant in music but can be considered a social blight who promotes an adverse image of Black American women who are already equated to being masculine, unsuitable for marriage and overly sexualized. We can go on and on regarding the list of Musical Acts who struck deals to perform at the Essence Fest, but do we really have to? The question we pose to Essence Magazine is why? Do you need money or are you simply looking to boost your numbers – what is going on really? Reach out to us and let us know.
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