During Friday night’s concert of the second annual Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit, entertainment executive and radio host Kenny Burns, who served as MC for the evening, declared: “This is Atlanta’s Essence Fest.”
And he wasn’t wrong. And it seems about time that Atlanta had something that can stand alongside that long-running New Orleans-based celebration of Black music and culture.
State Farm Arena, which housed the festival’s two-day concert event featured an avalanche of fans wearing anything from sequined outfits and bamboo earrings to Mary J. Blige T-shirts and thigh-high boots. A pink VIP section for the Black-owned hair care line Mielle Organics filled the back of the arena. And commercials featuring Black women-owned brands, like Ciara’s skin care brand OAM, streamed from TV screens throughout the venue. Black women were both seen and celebrated.
That’s exactly what Mary J. Blige intended to do when she established the festival in Atlanta last year. But this year, the festival did more than that. In honor of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, this year’s Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit highlighted the culture of hip-hop across gender and sexuality by affirming that women and the queer community are undeniably a crucial aspect of the genre’s past, present and future.
The four-day event included a jazz night with Grammy-winning pianist and arranger Robert Glasper, two star-studded concerts at State Farm Arena, a comedy night, panel conversations, a gospel brunch and a ball.
Jodeci (minus DeVante Swing), donning bedazzled leather jackets, opened Friday night’s concert with a selection of hits like “Forever My Lady” and “My Heart Belongs to U” that reminded the crowd of the group’s indelible contributions to popularizing the new jack swing sound (a combination of hip-hop, funk and soul). Throughout the roughly 40-minute set, K-Ci belted gospel-tinged outros that were reminiscent of his Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers days.
Atlanta-based music executive and hip-hop legend DJ Drama followed with a performance that would make any Atlanta native proud of their city’s offerings to hip-hop and R&B. He surprised the crowd with Atlanta staples like Dem Franchize Boyz, Young Dro, Lloyd, Bobby Valentino, K Camp and T.I. To further spotlight Atlanta’s dominance in the hip-hop scene, Jeezy performed a 30-minute set that relived the days of the rapper’s indisputable reign in 2005. He ended the set with his Akon-assisted hit “Soul Survivor,” and surprised the crowd with Akon himself.
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Mary J. Blige, wearing a red-and-white two piece with her signature thigh-high boots, was next to hit the stage to remind everyone in the audience of why she’s the queen of hip-hop soul. The iconic R&B singer, actress and entrepreneur performed songs like “What’s the 411?,” “I Can Love You,” “Love No Limit,” and more. Across two more outfit changes, the Yonkers native brought out other New York legends like Method Man, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes to celebrate hip-hop. Mary J. Blige also surprised the crowd with Atlanta’s princess of crunk and R&B Ciara, who performed with Lola Brooke. And if that wasn’t enough, Blige ended the night with another surprise — Missy Elliott.
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
The Atlanta resident, who recently became the first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, delivered a futuristic and interactive performance of “Get Ur Freak On,” pivoting to walking in the crowd during her set when she couldn’t hear herself in the earbuds.
Although the festival’s second concert on Saturday night was dedicated to R&B, hip-hop was still in the mix. Rising R&B singer and actress Coco Jones opened the night in an emerald two-piece suit that seemed to foreshadow the fresh variety of money notes she’d hit during her set. Jones’ tear-jerking rendition of her breakthrough single “ICU” sounded divine, as if she was singing it from a church’s pulpit on a Sunday morning.
“This festival, to me, is just an amazing way to highlight Black women and all of the plights that we push through, and I want to continue to do that,” the 25-year-old singer said backstage.
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Muni Long, Lucky Daye, and Atlanta’s Summer Walker, whose fusion of trap music and soul has made her a leading voice in R&B, also performed Saturday night. The concert ended with Lauryn Hill, who celebrated 25 years of her seminal album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” the first rap album to win a Grammy for Album of the Year, with a collection of hip-hop and R&B hits that proved why she’s still able to secure top billing with only one solo studio album under her belt. Not even sound issues (which seemed to be a running problem for artists during both concerts) could stop her raspy alto on “Killing Me Softly” or “To Zion” from sounding as sweet as it did over 20 years ago.
For Sunday night’s closing event, ballroom culture took center stage. The Purpose Ball, held at The Bank, featured several categories honoring the Black queer community’s impact on popular culture. Miss Lawrence, actor and Atlanta mother of the House of Balenciaga, produced the show and Saucy Santana, the budding Miami rapper who’s already blazing a trail for femme gay men in hip-hop, walked the runway while performing viral hits like “Material Girl” and “Walk.” More than $60,000 in prizes were awarded.
The ball lasted more than five hours and featured guest judges such as Blige herself, celebrity fashion stylist Law Roach, Atlanta-bred actress Gail Bean and more. Dashaun Wesley, who hosted the former HBO Max ballroom competition series “Legendary,” was among the show’s commentators. “Pose” star Angelica Ross also made an appearance.
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
Credit: Getty Images for Strength Of A W
The ball was a new addition to the festival. It was conceived from a dinner Miss Lawrence hosted last year to bridge the gap between the Black queer and Black straight community.
“We know the power of ballroom,” Miss Lawrence said during the event. “They came to me and said they wanted a piece. I said wanted a real ball because real balls are for real people and one thing about MJB is that she’s a real one. Through decade after decade, she has provided a soundtrack of most of our lives — when we’ve had heartache, when we’ve celebrated love, when we’ve been lost in love. She’s always let us know what the 411 was.”
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