Event included performances by Chaka Khan, Brandy, MC Lyte and Lianne La Havas.
ESSENCE Magazine held their 6th Annual Black Women in Music Event at the Avalon in Hollywood which honored Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and poet, Jill Scott as well as commemorated the 45th anniversary of the publication.
The event also included performances by legendary singer Chaka Khan, rapper, MC Lyte, singer Brandy and emerging artist Lianne La Havas. The Lincoln Motor Company was the title sponsor in addition to Colgate Optic White and Glade.
Grammy award-winning artist Brandy set the tone for the show as the opening act. The singer and actress is currently wrapping her final season on the hit BET series, The Game.
When asked why she chose to be apart of the event, Brandy commented, “ESSENCE has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. I’m honored to be invited; I wouldn’t miss it. Even if I weren’t apart of the show I would have still been here.” The celebration was definitely one of the hottest tickets in town as stars including Queen Latifah, Ciara, Jordin Sparks, Ledisi, Zendaya, Lalah Hathaway, Goapele and the cast of The Real, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Adrienne Bailon, Loni Love and Jeannie Mai where some of the notable names in attendance.
British native, La Havas, who is still an emerging artist in the United States was ecstatic about participating in the concert. She said, “I feel absolutely over the moon and I couldn’t really believe it. My first reaction was what’s the catch? Why are you asking me? I’m so proud; I want to do the performance justice; I cant wait to be near Jill!” As far as La Havas’ favorite Jill Scott song, she said it’s “He Loves Me”.
Echoing similar sentiments was rising star V. Bozeman who can currently be seen on the hit FOX series Empire. Bozeman who is signed to Timbaland’s imprint Mosley Music and Epic Records gave this insight on how the Empire opportunity came about. “I did a piece called “Race Jones” and Timbaland thought I’d be perfect for Empire. He showed the piece to Lee Daniels and here I am today!”
The L.A. native gives this advice to other up-and-coming artists, “Be patient, steadfast and focused. You have to know what you want and believe in yourself in addition to keeping God first.” Bozeman’s favorite Jill Scott song is also “He Loves Me” from her debut album, “Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1” Bozeman says, “I love Jill because she really gave herself to the world with that first album.”
Actress Amber Riley shared, “I’m a huge Brandy and Jill Scott fan. Jill always looks amazingly beautiful and represents for us curvy girls. Chaka Khan is one of my idols. It’s amazing to not only be here to hear them sing but to also honor their accomplishments as artists. Riley who’s been starring on one of FOX’s most popular series, Glee for the past six years says she plans to take a break to attend acting school. Though a successful and acclaimed actress she said her choice to go back to school was to continue to learn and grow as an artist in hopes of expanding her repertoire to include more feature films.
Lonnie Love of The Real summed up the purpose of the event in saying, “We’re elated to support anything that is female driven and at ESSENCE, whether it’s through their magazine, the ESSENCE Festival and now with their Women in Music event, they continue to show that all women of color are amazing.”
To learn more about the ESSENCE Women In Music Event visit: essence.com
