We filled you in a couple days ago on the fact that Essence has a MAJOR lineup in order for this summer’s annual music festival. From Beyoncé and Jill Scott to Maxwell and Brandy, the hitmakers are headed to NOLA this July. And did we mention that their recent cover boy, LL Cool J, is also performing as well? Here’s to hoping his performance will be a bit more entertaining than what he did at the Grammys….Anyhow, we now can add Bey’s sister Solange and R&B stud Trey Songz into the mix, as Essence just revealed that they have been added to the lineup. They’ve also tapped the very underrated Tamia and Faith Evans to perform as well. While Solange and Trey will probably hit a main stage, Tamia, Evans, as well as the additions of Mali Music and singer Rachelle Ferrell, will perform in the festival’s superlounges.

And if you’re hoping to take part in changing that body from within instead of just shaking it down to the ground, the festival will of course have opportunities to speak with and learn from life coaches, fitness experts, members of the clergy and more through something called the Essence Empowerment Experience. There you can get fed with the help of the brilliant Iyanla Vanzant, as well as Steve Harvey, and I don’t know, maybe get some business advice or something from Kenya Moore (?) of Real Housewives of Atlanta. They’re also bringing in other big names to help, including John Lewis, Denise Warren, Karen Peterson, Kim Burrell, Kurt Carr and many others.

Once again, if you’re trying to be a part of all this fun, the Essence Music Festival is from July 4-7, and weekend packages are already for sale online. Get moving!

By Ruven Afanador for EW

Well hellooooooooo diva!

Solange Knowles is in the pages of the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly in all afro and long-haired fur glory, speaking on her love of the simple life, her hopes to head back down South soon, and her son Julez’s hopes to rap (blame it on his uncle).

In a short excerpt from the full interview, Knowles discussed all the work she put into her new critically-acclaimed EP, True, including all the money she spent out of her own pocket to pay for videos (including “Losing You”) and to create the EP as a whole. This was all done so that Knowles could finally have full creative control over her work, saying, “Every decision that’s been made behind this record, from the exact color of the album’s artwork to what record stores we put the record in, has been made by me.” And the results for the new, take-charge way of leading her life and career have been great. Many of Knowles’ upcoming shows to promote the EP have been sold out, and she has become part of the sartorial elite, being named one of Vogue’s Best Dressed last year and a fashion forward chick constantly killing it on the red carpet, creating her own lane outside of what people expected from her (which was to follow Bey’s lead). Great idea.

But an idea Knowles isn’t too sure about is whether or not she wants Julez to get into the entertainment industry. However, lil man has already started writing down his flows, and Solange showed off some of what he had written so far. Soooo cute:

“You don’t know how to rap/You’re so fat, like a rat in a mousetrap/You got a pen?/No? I didn’t think so/I’ll get you one if you know how to flow, yo/You got a pocket? I didn’t think so/Because you’re like an armadillo in the road, bro/Have you seen the movie hunger games?” And then it stops there.

But those rapper plans may need to go on hold for now, as his famous mom hopes to leave Brooklyn and move back South in the next few years. Blame it on her H-town roots…and the warm weather.

“I’m such a Southern girl. I plan on moving back in the next year or two, when it makes sense for Julez schoolwise. I think either Austin or New Orleans. Somewhere warm, for sure.”

Check out the full interview by picking up the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly, but until then, you can see the full excerpt on their website.

Also, check out homegirl singing “Bad Girls” for Black Cab Sessions recently and let us know what you think!

What is Solo going to do next!?

If you didn’t know by now, Solange Knowles is a lover of ’90s music to the fullest. And when she’s not defending Brandy’s artistic awesome-ness against blogs on Twitter, she’s covering Nicole Wray. “Make It Hot” was everybody’s jam back in ’98, back when Missy used to do that slip and slide move across the floor, and Nicole was one of the many colorful folk that Elliot and Timbaland were producing bangers for. And clearly it’s still pretty popular, because during a recent show at XOYO in London, Solange decided to show some love to the track by covering it. Bringing out her friend Oliver Sims from the band The xx to help her perform the cut, their very colorful voices helped remind a crowd full of people why “Make It Hot” should be a staple in any iTunes list for a person who grew up in the ’90s. Check out their performance below, which really starts around the 50-second mark.

So did she make it hot? Either way, I know Wray is somewhere smiling at all this attention she’s getting once again. I think I’m going to play the original right now. And I’ve decided to post it if for you if you wanted to clown for a bit. Enjoy!

Solange is out in these streets trying to tour to promote the recent release of her well-received EP, True. She’s performing at the Bowery Ballroom tonight, and in a recent stop to our main man Jimmy Fallon’s show, the singer, her producer Dev Hynes and her funky band put on a pretty colorful performance of “Losing You” for viewers. Not only was Solange bedecked in all green everything with her printed blazer and matching button down, fly slacks and chunky platforms, but the hair was huge! With her gold jewelry and dance moves, I think Solo was going for Diana Ross fab-ness a la the mid to late ’70s. While the fashion was on point, the music was also up to par, as the performance did the recording of “Losing You” justice, because after a shaky start when singing the track, Solange ended up bringing her A-game vocally. Almost makes me wish I would have picked up tickets to her Bowery Ballroom show for tonight, but a sista has got Christmas gifts to buy, so hey, this will have to do. Check out Solo’s performance and her fresh two-step below and let us know what you think of it all. Homegirl is definitely in her own lane right now doing her own thing and we’re not even mad at her!

We’re finally coming to a close with the work week and before we get lazy because it’s about to be the freakin’ weekend, we of course had to take a moment to showcase some of the most colorful and attention-grabbing ensembles from the week. Sistahs were out and about in their leather pants, with their fur stoles and jackets, rocking metallic accessories and playful African prints. Could we finally go a week with no stops? We shall see…

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Selita Ebanks

Red usually means stop, but looking vibrant in firetruck red, Selita Ebanks was a go! The former Victoria’s Secret Angel attended the 8th Annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball at Cipriani in NYC doing the va-va voom thing in this strapless red gown with a gathered asymmetrical bodice that had a cascading ruffle around the waist. The dress also had a split that stopped at the thigh, and a dramatic train for added effect. She wore black pointed toe pumps and took with her a small black satin clutch. As you can see, her jewelry included a beaded drop necklace, and she brought along her favorite thing in the attempt to go Hollywood glamour and keep warm – some fur.

I think, for starters, that Selita’s makeup is gorgeous, and the hair is “flickin’” which is always a good thing. And I do find the dress to be very stunning, plus I like the mix of the black heel with the black clutch, but the necklace she could have saved for another day. Either way though, steal!

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If Solange Knowles’s track “Losing You” released a few months back pleasantly surprised you with its synth heavy lush sound and end-of-the-road type of love lyrics, then prepare to be further impressed by her new jam, “Lovers In The Parking Lot.” This most recent release is coming off her upcoming seven-song EP, True, off Terrible Records, and it’s another collaboration between one of Vogue’s best dressed and her new favorite producer, Dev Hynes (who is killing the game right now).

While “Losing You” centered around the singer putting just about everything into a relationship that was crashing and burning, “Lovers In The Parking Lot” is more about taking good love for granted, and “Solange” (or whoever the song was written about/for) finding themselves alone and wishing for that old thing back. Too bad that can’t happen because as Solo sings, “I played around with your heart/And now I’m playing around in the dark.”

So, can I just say that Solo is giving me life with her newest stuff? (Sorry, but it’s true.) “Losing You” is on repeat on my iPhone and I’m going to have to download and wear out this joint too because it’s tough (in a good way). The whole thing, with its great writing and keyboard presence sounds like something we used to fawn over Alicia Keys for in the early ’00s (this could literally be a track off Songs In A Minor or Diary of Alicia Keys), but this is all Solo at her finest. By experimenting with her music, which she did a lot of with Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams, she’s exposing us to a whole new league of R&B, and we here at MN dig it. Check out the track and let us know what you think. Pass or play? And if you love it, you will be happy to know that True will drop on November 27.

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No matter whether you think these ladies are fierce fashionistas or look a hot arse mess on the regular, the fashion experts at Vogue have decided that Solo and Zoe were two of the best dressed women out there this year. And in the end, when you’re trying to make a name for yourself as a savvy sartorialist on top of a star, what Vogue says is all that matters, right?

The women were handpicked for rocking and killing it in some of the most stylish ensembles this year, and because they proved that fashion has evolved and isn’t as boring and matchy matchy as it used to be. There was no particular order in the top 10, but Emma Stone, who is on the list, snagged the cover of the “Best Dressed” issue. But as for the sistas on the list, we’re excited that not only are Solange and Zoe listed, but real life NBA wife Kimberly Chandler was picked for her chic looks as well. Isn’t it nice to see an actual basketball wife get notoriety for something more than rachetry? Do your thing Kim! In honor of being part of the new fashion elite, we’ve also decided to share a few of our favorite looks from these ladies below. Whose style do you think is “Best Dressed” worthy? And of course, check out the other women who make up the best dressed according to Vogue. Congrats ladies!

SOLANGE

Lia Toby/WENN.com

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Getty

ZOE SALDANA

FayesVision/WENN.com

Andres Otero/ WENN.com

FayesVision/WENN.com

KIMBERLY CHANDLER (Err, please excuse Tyson’s looks…)

Vogue

Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Anthony Dixon/WENN.com

From StyleBlazer

Model, singer and fashion It Girl, Solange Knowles opens up and lets in the cameras for her latest fashion spread. Shot on location in her Brooklyn home, the 26-year-old mother is clearly comfortable in her own space.

The seven-page editorial appears in the most recent issue of Rika magazine, an independent Swedish publication. Solange stays true to her personal style ethos by sporting loads of bold colors, mixing prints and, of course, rocking her signature fro.

Read more at StyleBlazer