2009 Essence Music Festival: Backstage with En Vogue

Opening the final night of the 2009 Essence Music Festival was none other than En Vogue, which consisted of original members Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, and Maxine Jones.

Though the 'Free Your Mind' singers went on at the unlikely time of 7:00 p.m. -- on a bill that included Teena Marie, Al Green, Lionel Richie and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly – they rocked the crowd at Louisiana's super-sized Superdome with their hour-long set.

Backstage, the Grammy Award nominated-foursome described their Essence Music Fest experience as "awesome," "wonderful" and "so much fun." Sadly, festival goers were not able to see them perform their biggest hit 'Hold On to Your Love' because of time constrictions.

"That's our big closing number and it was our biggest hit so we were a little disappointed we didn't get to do it," Heron said. But that didn't stop the group from sharing a tidbit of the beginning of the song, a snippet of The Jackson 5's 'Who's Loving You' which they planned to dedicate to the late, great Michael Jackson.

Onstage, the funky divas performed their hit songs such as 'Never Gonna Get It,' 'Lies' and 'Don't Let Go,' alongside a treasure trove of cover songs by some of their favorite singers: Diana Ross' 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,' Cheryl Lynn's 'To Be Real,' Tina Turner's 'Proud Mary,' Donna Summer's 'Bad Girls' and Labelle's 'Lady Marmalade.'

Is a covers project of some kind in the works? The ladies are open to it.

"We love doing covers and I think we have probably talked about it since we started just paying tribute to some of the people that have inspired us," Jones revealed. "It's always a conversation of ours. A total cover album is a good idea."

Mel B Pictures

In this photo provided by Kraft Foods, Spice Girl "Mel B" poses for a photo wearing a T-shirt she designed based on the classic pink ribbon used for breast cancer awareness, after a fashion show and launch of "Pose for the Cure" web site to help Kraft Foods raise money for the 'Susan G. Komen for the Cure' fight against breast cancer in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. The shirt is for sale on the web site and the net proceeds will benefit the foundation. (AP Photo/Kraft Foods, Ray Stubblebine) **NO SALES**

In this undated image released by Oxfam Tuesday Sept. 23, 2008, British singer Mel B participates in the 'In My Name' global campaign calling for action against poverty and demanding world leaders keep their promises on millennium development goals. (AP Photo/Oxfam, HO) ** NO SALES **

In this photo provided by Kraft Foods, Spice Girl Mel B, left, serves as the emcee at a fashion show and launch of "Pose for the Cure" web site to help Kraft Foods raise money for the 'Susan G. Komen for the Cure' fight against breast cancer in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008. Mel B wears a T-shirt she designed based on the classic pink ribbon used for breast cancer awareness. The shirt is for sale on the web site and the net proceeds will benefit the foundation. The woman at right is unidentified. (AP Photo/Kraft Foods, Ray Stubblebine) **NO SALES**

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: TV personality and designer Khloe Kardashian and Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard (R) pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Ultimo Scottish designer lingerie brand founder Michelle Mone (L) and pop singer Melanie Brown pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown poses backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown and Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard (R) pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown and singer Aubrey O'Day (R) poses backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 09: Pop singer Melanie Brown, Olympic-level swimmer and model Amanda Beard, singer Aubrey O'Day and TV personality and designer Khloe Kardashian pose backstage at the Mel B With Ultimo Spring 2009 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Metropolitan Pavilion on September 9, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images )

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Many new-school music lovers don't realize that acts like Destiny's Child, SWV, 702 and Jade are a few of the girl groups that have always been vocal about being influenced by the R&B quartet. Even 12-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys.

Since joining the J Records superstar at the '2008 BET Awards,' all four of the original members of En Vogue have reunited and have been performing select dates. The group recently returned from a stint in Japan and seemed very excited to be together again at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.

"It is so wonderful to be here, it's been a long time since we were able to perform here and to be around our peers and other artists that we admire," Jones added.

For Robinson, who left the group to pursue a solo music venture and work with Lucy Pearl, being reunited with her gal pals is a good thing.

"It's like we never missed a beat, like seeing family that you haven't seen in a long time, but it's just like riding a bike...it's normal,' she shared.

Next year, EnVogue will celebrate their 20th anniversary in the music business.

And they are happy about it.

"I guess we love what we do and try to stay true to our music and we're indebted to our fans and are really grateful there are still fans there," Herron said. "We want to be able to give them what they like and something new soon. '
The group is planning to release a new single later this year.

Black Music Notes June 29

6/29/09: Pepa/Chilli
Pioneering female hip hop artist Sandra "Pepa" Denton, of Salt n Pepa, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of TLC are set to star in their very own VH1 reality shows, respectively. The as-yet-untitled productions will both focus on their current lives as single women, among other things. In Pepa's series, producers will follow the female MC as she emerges from her self-imposed romantic and sexual dormancy of the past four years as she begins to search for love again. While Chilli's yet-to-be titled show will document the songstress taking the reins of her lackluster romantic situation and launch an all out search for the love of her life. The two half-hour episodes are set to premiere in 2010.

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6/24/09: Bootsy Collins
Just in time for Independence Day, legendary funk singer-songwriter Boosty Collins is paying tribute to our fallen soldiers with his new project 'Fallen Heroes Memorial.' The 20-track opus, which features country icon Charlie Daniels and jazz music maestro George Duke, originated when Collins learned that his dear neighbor was found decapitated in Iraq, after his convoy went under attack. Thanks to Collins, Daniels, and Duke's efforts, proceeds from the project, which is now in stores, will go to the Fallen Heroes Foundation.

Wire Image

6/24/09: Chris Brown
With his trial for assaulting ex-girlfriend, Rihanna behind him, Chris Brown is looking to make his way back a top the music charts. As of late, unreleased songs of the troubled R&B crooner have been appearing left and right via the web. However Brown's label, Jive Records, released a statement this week dismissing rumors of the leaked songs are from his forthcoming album, tentatively titled 'Graffiti.' "Countering misleading reports of 'new' Chris Brown music: there are no 'new' songs from Chris Brown currently being promoted by Chris or his record label," a representative for Jive Records said. "There are several old demos circulating that are being falsely promoted as new material from Chris." As of press time there was no official date set for the new music.

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6/24/09: Michael Jackson
To build even more anticipation for his upcoming 50-show run at London's O2 Arena (set to kick off July 13), Michael Jackson is making sure select fans receive VIP treatment. According to Rolling Stone, concert-goers who registered to buy tickets recently received an e-mail informing them that "rehearsals are underway with the full production staged," in addition to AEG Live offering a limited amount of production tickets. A password will be sent to those who successfully registered for the ticket lottery at the Michael Jackson Live website. Meanwhile, VIP packages are still available for approximately $1,256 to $1,292.

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6/22/09: Teena Marie
Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter, Teena Marie has landed herself back on the album charts with her latest release 'Congo Square.' With 18,000 copies sold during its first week, Lady T's Stax Records debut opus managed to land her at the number 20 spot on Billboard's Top 200 and number 4 on the U.S. R&B charts. The multi-talented instrumentalist also reached out to the likes of Faith Evans, Shirley Murdock, MC Lyte, George Duke and the ever so popular Howard Hewett, to help make 'Congo' a squared project. The 'Fire & Desire' singer is one of the headliners during the fifteenth anniversary of the Essence Music Festival, taking place next month in New Orleans.

Stax Records

6/22/09: Calvin Richardson
You can always depend on Calvin Richardson to dig deep into his vast musical roots to help inspire his style. Hence, the release of his forthcoming album 'Facts Of Life: The Soul of Bobby Womack.' And judging by the title you can bet any amount of money that Richardson channeled the legendary great Bobby Womack for the opus. "Bobby Womack is a pioneer who is very important to the type of music that I do," Richardson professed. "He's a great artist who I have great respect for, who I built my sound around and as a result I feel I have a direct connection with him." 'Facts Of Life,' in stores and at digital retailers Aug. 25 via Shanachie Entertainment, features popular Womack hits such as 'A Woman's Gotta Have It,' 'Across 110th Street,' 'I Can Understand It,' and 'Harry Hippy.'

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6/22/09: Death Row Records
It looks like Death Row Records is making a comeback (of sorts) in the music industry. According to Billboard, music publisher EverGreen has signed a deal with Canadian-based development company WIDEawake has acquired the assets of Death Row Records to be the international administration company of the now-defunct hip hop powerhouse record label. The deal entails EverGreen to handle licensing for all compositions and master recordings in Death Row's catalog, in addition to the processing of all mechanical and performance royalties in the catalog. Devoted 2pac fans can expect another album of unreleased material in 2010 to celebrate the late rappers birthday. The as-yet-untitled album will be distributed by E-1 stateside and EMI overseas.

Getty Images, Interscope Records

6/18/09: Fonzworth Bentley
Fonzworth Bentley fans may be in for a treat or two once his long-awaited debut album, 'CoolOutrageousLoversOfUniquelyRawStyle' comes out. Executive produced by Kanye West, the opus is expected to feature appearances by Andre 3000, West himself, and Anthony Hamilton – who is featured on the lead single 'Greener.' "The song 'Greener' is about leaving the past and looking to the future," Bentley states. "Whether it is a relationship, a career change or any type of upgrade in your life...It is my hope that after listening and seeing the visual for 'Greener,' people will be inspired to join the movement." 'CoolOutrageousLoversOfUniquelyRawStyle' is expected to hit stores later this year via E1 Music.

Astrid Stawiarz, Getty Images

6/18/09: Kanye West/Beyonce/Maxwell
The annual 'BET Awards' have just got hotter! In addition to comedian-turned singer Jamie Foxx hosting this year's event, Beyonce, Kanye West, Maxwell, Young Jeezy, Ne-Yo and Soulja Boy are scheduled to perform. In addition to gracing the stage, Beyonce ties T.I. with five nominations including favorite R&B Female and Video of the Year. 'The 2009 BET Awards' will air live from Los Angeles on June 28.

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6/18/09: Queen Ifrica
This week, reggae music powerhouse VP Records released 'Montego Bay,' the debut album from Queen Ifrica, who's described as an audacious singer/songwriter with a husky tone reminiscent of late, great song stylist Nina Simone. The 13-track collection features production by Kemar McGregor, Rickman Warren, Donovan Germaine and C. Hurst and offers a new, striking Rastafarian voice taking on empowering anthems, lovers' rock tunes and social commentary.

VP Records