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Essence Live: Christmas Eve Special
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hey, hey, Essence Live! It's Christmas Eve, and I hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday season, whatever you're celebrating.
00:06Today, we're looking back on our best moments from Essence Live.
00:08I've got some presents, a little hot cocoa, and my PJs, and of course, some special guests.
00:13So, let's go.
00:25Welcome to a special Christmas Eve edition of Essence Live.
00:27I'm your host, Dana Blair, and joining me today are two of my favorite gals, my homies, my colleagues,
00:32just some good old girlfriends, Essence Entertainment director, Corey Murray,
00:35and of course, our Relationships Editor, Ms. Charlie Penn.
00:37Hey, ladies.
00:38Hello, hello, hello.
00:39Corey, what are you doing?
00:40I am getting my Wonder Woman stance, and I would like to be referred to as Wonder Woman.
00:45Yes, we can do that.
00:46We can do that.
00:46The entirety of this.
00:47Can you show your accessories, please?
00:49Only Corey's PJs have accessories.
00:52I'm flying.
00:53Get it?
00:54I love it.
00:54We need to get you a fan.
00:56Yeah, plus it's a onesie party.
00:57It's a onesie party, and yours have the feet in them.
00:59Yes.
01:00With your superdy-dupes cute.
01:01I love it.
01:01A must.
01:02Wait, wait, is that a grip on the bottom?
01:03Yes.
01:04Just in case.
01:04Sometimes you need a little grip.
01:06When your chill is hard, you'll fall.
01:09Well, ladies, we're going to jump right into it.
01:12One of the biggest things that happened in 2015 was Hotline Bling, of course.
01:16Not only did the song become a radio smash, but it helped Drake become the most streamed artist
01:21around the world.
01:22But one of our favorite parts about the Hotline Bling rain, the dance from the video, of course.
01:26I mean, it created memes everywhere.
01:28Corey, Charlie, can you do a Hotline Bling dance?
01:31Do y'all Hotline dance?
01:32I mean, we can try.
01:33We can try.
01:34But can I just say for the record, I didn't see anything wrong with it because that's kind
01:37of how I dance.
01:38Right.
01:38I've seen you dance.
01:39That is not how you dance.
01:40I can do the little dance.
01:42That's how you slow it down.
01:43No, but you're on the beat.
01:44You're on the beat, though.
01:45What do you do?
01:45This little turn, and then he did this little kick.
01:47I mean, my favorite meme was the Little Einsteins.
01:50Little Einsteins.
01:51Oh, my God.
01:52Drop it.
01:53My favorite was the Mortal Kombat mashup.
01:56That and the tennis racket.
01:57Take me back.
01:58I like the dominoes where he's throwing pepperoni on the pizza.
02:03We asked some of our favorite celebs to do their best Hotline Bling.
02:06Okay, the rule was you had to try to imitate Drake's moves from the video.
02:10Girls, you're going to absolutely love this.
02:13I am.
02:13Check this out.
02:14I can't wait.
02:14So ready.
02:15I can't wait.
02:17Yeah.
02:20You used to call me on my cell phone.
02:24Late night when you need my love.
02:28Call me on my cell phone.
02:31Late night when you need my love.
02:35And I know when that hotline bleep.
02:38That can only mean one thing.
02:41You used to call me on my cell phone.
02:44Late night when you need my love.
02:49Call me on my cell phone.
02:53Late night when you need my love.
02:56I know when that hotline bleep.
03:00That can only mean one thing.
03:02Ever since I left the city.
03:04That was too funny.
03:06Kirk Franklin killed it.
03:08Oh my god.
03:09No, but Thomas Q Jones.
03:11How did he get down like that?
03:12Why did he go down like that?
03:13I think we know how he got there.
03:14We know how he got there.
03:16He was all over the screen.
03:17We know how he got there.
03:18But then he get back up.
03:22Thank you so much to all of the celebrities who participated in that.
03:24Ever been in such great sports.
03:26But Hotline Bling was the only hit this year.
03:28We can't forget about Empire, of course.
03:30Of course.
03:31And Black-ish.
03:32What was your favorite Empire moment of season two?
03:35Cookie Monster for life.
03:36I mean, I am a Cookie Monster.
03:38Cookies.
03:39You should have worn a Cookie Monster PJ.
03:40I know.
03:41That would have been cute.
03:42That would have been a moment.
03:43Next time.
03:45Okay, so Cookie.
03:46But Cookie, I mean, just her evolution.
03:48You know, she's really come into her own.
03:49It's been so much fun to watch.
03:50Her fashion, her beauty, her sass, her motherhood.
03:54Like everything is just changing and I love it.
03:56Corey, what about you?
03:57I like that Aneeka's going a little crazy.
03:59Me too.
04:00Me too.
04:01Like, what's going on?
04:03But I really like it.
04:05Okay.
04:06That's the real clip.
04:07Okay, well, Empire, of course, was very big.
04:08But Black-ish was another huge hit.
04:11We asked Essence Live family member, if you will, Yara Shahidi,
04:14who plays Zoe on Black-ish, to spit her best rhyme.
04:17Grace Gilliam, Empire to dance.
04:18Plus, Jadenah and Janelle Monae gave us a sneak peek of Classic Man,
04:22of course, before it took over the airwaves.
04:24We were the first.
04:25All right, so check it out.
04:27Do you want to freestyle anything?
04:30No?
04:30You don't have to.
04:31No pressure.
04:32In my head, I just walk around the Essence office and I go,
04:35bars, bars.
04:36And I see if anybody's going to challenge me.
04:38Nobody really does except for Yolanda, our entertainment editor.
04:41And I'm really trying to take her toe to toe.
04:43I'm like, what?
04:44Bars.
04:45And then I just like drop a piece of paper and I'm walking away.
04:47I'm so serious.
04:48The thing is, when I read the lyrics, like, it's no longer, it's no longer cuter to rhythm.
04:53It's just me trying to spit off things.
04:54So I memorized all right.
04:56And it's like, what you want?
04:58You want a house, you want a car, 40 acres, and a mule, a piano, a guitar, anything.
05:01So my name is Lucy.
05:01I'm your dog.
05:02Yes.
05:02You can live with them all.
05:03I can see the evil.
05:04I can tell it.
05:05I know it's illegal.
05:05I don't think about it.
05:06I deposit every little.
05:07I think I know your part.
05:07I'm fifth, I can't even put it in all the regal.
05:09And that's...
05:09We gon' be all right.
05:12Oh.
05:12We gon' be all right.
05:14Yes.
05:14I'm really good to come in for the chorus.
05:16I'm really good to come in for the chorus.
05:18So, okay, so here we go.
05:20One, two, three, and four, five, and six.
05:27Right?
05:27Now we're going to do a dip.
05:28Ready for the dip?
05:29I'm ready for the dip.
05:30Here we go.
05:31So we go one, two, three, and four, five, and six.
05:35Girl, you got it.
05:37Wait, we need a partner.
05:38Okay.
05:39We need a partner.
05:44I was thinking this would make for a very good...
05:49He's a little stiff.
05:50I cannot with this.
05:53The dimensions were a little off in the printing department.
05:56Here's how you doing.
05:57How you doing, T?
05:59Yes.
06:00Triple play.
06:01Triple play.
06:02And then you break it down.
06:03I love it.
06:04Awesome.
06:05He didn't do too bad himself.
06:07No, not bad.
06:07Not bad at all.
06:08He's restored his name.
06:09This is hilarious.
06:20I just thought Classic Man was the perfect song to start off the Lodge of Wonderland records.
06:25I'm a classic man.
06:27You can be mean when you look this clean.
06:30I'm a classic man.
06:32Men need to be uplifted and encouraged.
06:34And Jadena brings a unique perspective to the classic man and what a classic man means.
06:38A classic man is really a celebration of a dignified gentleman.
06:42It's not about capital or age.
06:44It's about character.
06:45It's about poise.
06:46It's about discretion.
06:48Taste.
06:48So a classic man has all of the above.
06:51It doesn't matter what you wear.
06:52It's how you wear it.
06:53I'm an electric lady and I feel like I can be a classic man too.
06:56Even when she go away, even when she go away, even when she go away, even when she go away.
07:06I'm a classic man.
07:08You can be mean when you look this clean.
07:11I'm a classic man.
07:13Calling on me like a young OG.
07:16I'm a classic man.
07:19Your knees getting there by the street.
07:21Elegant old-fashioned man.
07:23Yeah, baby, I'm a classic man.
07:25One of the dreams that I've always had was all of us swimming towards this boat and no artist,
07:33no person being left behind.
07:34The EP has been named the Ephus.
07:37And Ephus is a curveball, a game changer.
07:40L.A.
07:40Reed is giving me a platform to showcase the artists that I love in this movement.
07:45So it's not just a record label, but it's a movement of artists and a story of five artists
07:49coming together to help change the world.
07:50We love to do fun things here at Essence Live with our celebs.
07:58And of course, that includes games.
08:01Charlie, what was your favorite?
08:05Wait, what am I missing?
08:07I'm getting an anthem for the games.
08:08She's like, Wonder Woman is powering up over there.
08:12She's ready.
08:12I think she has her answer.
08:14What's your answer, Charlie?
08:16I just felt the force back there.
08:17I felt the force with you.
08:18What's happening?
08:19With you.
08:20There are so many games that I love.
08:22There were so many, but Luke James, can you hit that note?
08:25Okay.
08:26I laughed at that entire segment.
08:28And he did that.
08:29He did hit that note.
08:30He was like, hold on.
08:30But he did it because he's from New Orleans.
08:32Okay?
08:32That's what we do.
08:33And he hit those notes.
08:35What about you, Corey?
08:36Speaking of Nola, I love the beignet eating contest because I love a good beignet down at
08:41the Essence Festival, and you've got to have them.
08:42Those are all good.
08:44So, let's watch.
08:44Hey, my name is Luke James, and I can hit any notes.
09:06Hey, my name is Luke James.
09:08Wow.
09:09Wow.
09:10Wow.
09:11Wow.
09:12Wow.
09:21Wow.
09:25That's not too hard.
09:42That's not too hard.
09:47There you go.
09:52That's it.
09:55That's all I got for it.
09:59Yeah.
10:00Oh, baby.
10:01Oh, darling.
10:02The rhythm of the night.
10:05The rhythm of the night.
10:08The rhythm of the night.
10:10The rhythm of the night.
10:13The rhythm of the night.
10:18The rhythm of the night.
10:21The rhythm of the night.
10:22The rhythm of the night.
10:24It's the rhythm of the night.
10:25The rhythm of the night.
10:27My darling I.
10:29Can't give up your love, babe.
10:33My, my darling I.
10:36I can't get enough. I can't get it up. I can't get enough for your love, babe. Oh
10:42no, no
10:44This is so weird
10:50Maybe we should take it slow. Take it slow. Oh
10:58Big brother this time we'll take it slow
11:02Take it slow
11:06We're just ordinary people
11:08This time we'll take
11:10We don't know which way to go
11:14Cuz we're ordinary people
11:18Maybe we should take it slow. Take it slow
11:28This time we'll take it slow
11:32I'm Luke James and I can't hit any note you need me to hear
11:41I just hit that. I hit it. Ooh yeah. I'm gonna count to three and then you can all start
11:54Put them hands away
11:56Okay, ready one two three
12:01Okay, oh
12:03Reva's ready. Okay
12:05All right
12:07Josh is in there too now. He's not he's not to be okay. Not to be disturbed. I'm gonna come over here to David
12:14All right, Dave. You gotta hurry up, man
12:16Come on David
12:18Reva really
12:20Reva want them tickets
12:22Look at the sugar everywhere. Oh
12:25There you go. There you go. There you go
12:27Everybody's taking a little water break
12:29Breathe a little breathe a little David hasn't stopped
12:33Okay
12:35Oh, she's one down. Okay, okay
12:37One down one down
12:43Davis David David you you you you last place right now, brother
12:48Uh-oh, uh-oh
12:50What what do we have over here with Josh?
12:52Uh-oh
12:54Uh-oh
12:56Uh-oh
12:58Look at this
13:00This is commitment
13:02All right, Reva's off but Reva's not giving up. Reva's not giving up neither is David
13:09This is a serious competition
13:12Okay, oh man
13:16Josh might be if Josh can do it if Josh can do it breathe guys breathe through it
13:23All right, Reva
13:25This is difficult you guys think eating three peignets is
13:28What is it? Oh my gosh, I can't I can't I can't
13:38Reva is our winner ladies and gentlemen the only lady on the competition is our winner
13:48Congratulations, uh-oh, uh-oh hold up breathe honey breathe take a second take a second
13:53Reva is our winner she barely made it but she made it through she's going away with two essence festival tickets for one night
14:01Thank you so much for playing and look high five girl you did it essence live cafe du mon beignets
14:07It doesn't get much better than this
14:11These clips I mean I promise y'all the goods did I deliver oh my god I did I deliver
14:16Well, don't worry. I have lots lots more don't go anywhere more essence live will be up next
14:23Essence has always supported you and what you stand for now
14:27Imagine essence could be even more offering a selection of new beauty products specially curated every month
14:33So you can see what's fresh try samples before you buy so you know what works for you
14:38You're getting the essentials from name brands and up-and-coming black-owned businesses go ahead be bold be confident be you
14:47Become a member
14:49Welcome back to the best of essence live i'm your host dana blair and today we are chillin i'm joined
14:58by essence entertainment director corey murray and relationships editor charlie penn for some good
15:02old christmas eve fun and my pjs thank you ladies for joining me and being in your pjs and just being
15:08such a good holiday sport yeah always a pleasure now charlie it's a personal favorite of mine but i know
15:14that you love you some steam room so this segment is all
15:21let me tell you data tell us all about the steam room the steam room is my baby it's your baby and
15:26we fill it with our baby now some people out there don't know what the steam room is so can you give
15:30us a quick rundown so i you know being the relationships editor and editing eye candy every
15:34week you know i'm just all about the hot chocolate such a hard job you know and i was just like what do we
15:39really want to see it i was like we want to see these men steaming up our screens okay our monitors
15:45our phones everything and answering the questions that we're thinking every day like what do you wear
15:49to bed and what turned you on they don't wear onesies they do not wear onesies if we want to know why can't
15:56we ask them now charlie i've got to say my favorite one was that one with j ellis from the game girl
16:04tell me like i wasn't there but i'll put me in the room put me in the room it was the i mean i'm a
16:09professional right okay okay i'm happily married right but we got in that steam room session and j ellis
16:17just became he's already sexy yeah okay but he became the sexiest man alive when we rolled those
16:22cameras and we just we were all like oh my god you know feel it oh my god that was our highest rated
16:2916 ever really ever he it was like it was made for him but what about like thomas q jones cutty
16:37buddy cutty buddy did y'all check did y'all catch that one yeah who could miss it it was kind of
16:42uncomfortable being in the studio i was like don't look i want a sugar-free diet don't look that's a
16:47lot of chocolate don't look don't look he took his time with it but wait how big is he like is he
16:52like we'll talk about that off camera let's take a look so mary jane and cutty buddy like to get down
17:05anywhere kitchens pools etc what's your personal favorite place to have sex
17:11my personal favorite place to have sex
17:23the couch why
17:29because
17:33the way you're positioned on the couch means you have to move around which means you probably end up in
17:39different positions
17:43thomas can you let our viewers see your famous six-pack you can go ahead and you can flex wink
17:53okay
17:56there you go oh i'm in the steam room
18:06can you work it
18:09hey this is jay ellis and i am in the essence steam room is it hot is that me that's me hello jay
18:25welcome to the steam room what's the sexiest place to make love this is a steam room right sensual it's
18:35warm somebody might walk in so there's a little bit of fun there's that element to it
18:42yeah i like that what do you wear to bed if i'm sleeping alone
18:52i wear boxes to bed if i'm sleeping with my girl
18:56i don't wear nothing what's your favorite type of foreplay
19:01oh
19:05i'm kind of no limits when it comes to uh foreplay like i feel like
19:10it's uh it's a time for us to have fun experiment a little bit try some stuff you wouldn't normally
19:16do maybe get rough maybe bite a little kiss a little
19:24you know i probably really can't say all of that and my mama might see this too but you know what i'm
19:28talking about have you ever skinny dipped
19:36um i have skinny dipped a couple times maybe a few weeks ago and like two weeks before that
19:45and i would go right now if there was a pool in here actually
19:53sexy music sexy movies or sexy talk
19:59i like movies yeah i'm a very visual person so if i can see it it's game on no pun intended and then
20:09sexy talk you know i like knowing what you like and knowing what she wants and then exceeding expectations
20:20what's your favorite way to make a woman blush
20:24um so i love being in like a public place and kind of like pulling my girl tight and getting like
20:31right next to her ear right like right when your lips are kind of like you know what i'm saying and
20:36just saying something like yo tonight i'm about to so please be ready and then you see her go blush and
20:46she's just like oh my god but she know what time it is uh i gotta get out of here it's way too hot way
20:56way way too steamy and uh i might be a little too turned on to be in here doing this so uh i'm gonna get out of here
21:05throughout this year we've had some pivotal moments with race in america that warranted
21:18deeper discussion from sandra bland to freddie gray and unfortunately more black lives have
21:23been in the crosshairs this year so essence live teamed with essence debates to discuss
21:28the current climate and provide some solutions welcome to essence debates now the baltimore
21:33uprising shine light on an issue across america what is the emotional state of our community
21:37set up and worn out well where are their parents right right i mean i believe that's the wrong
21:42question the real issue is the police i hadn't even made it a block before i was arrested it's not
21:48just about the individual now it's about a community of people but i think in large part
21:52most of law enforcement is doing the right thing why are these cops not brought to justice people don't
21:57see value in black life join us as we continue the search for hope and peace
22:03i like to say this and in any way does this reflect essence it's only reflects david banner
22:09but white supremacy only respects two things that's the loss of life and the loss of finances
22:16i'm about to say money you said finance yes until black people threaten one of those two things they
22:22will forever continue to do what they do so instead of blaming an external source blame yourself
22:29because until we blame ourselves we will never change anything the things that are going on with
22:35our women with our own lives and with our communities we are the problem thoughts ladies those were some
22:44really good conversations yeah and i'm happy that essence joined them and they were difficult conversations
22:48very difficult difficult but you know each and every one um i in all the conversations the hard
22:53conversation we have to have i almost admit that david banner really impressed me because you know
22:58i'll admit you kind of get a little bit of a hip-hop stars get a little bit of a stigma because they
23:02don't seem to be that involved but he just comes in and makes me remove all of my own stereotypes i have
23:08and he i feel like he's speaking as a black man in his troubles and it's very believable and i'm
23:12i'm thankful that he's speaking up and he poses a lot of questions that make you think he's like you know what i'm not
23:18necessarily going to point you in the right direction so to speak but i'm going to start to
23:21plant those seeds so you can try to get to the right uh destination if that makes sense and he's
23:26very self-aware very self-aware to participate in the entire conversation yeah definitely and i loved
23:31his apology to black women oh it was awesome i was like dude you got it and of course we're going to
23:35continue to have these types of conversations on essence.com in the magazine each and every month
23:40and of course right here on essence live so all right we'll be right back with more of the best of
23:45essence live right here christmas eve edition
24:15welcome back to the best of essence live finally we're going to close out the show with a special
24:23wait a minute dana yep breaking news hold up oh snap what is it wait a minute we have got a special
24:31performance but the star is already here very special oh my gosh he's chocolate and six foot
24:37something is not quite is he coming out of the sofa in the tree but you do know them well oh who is
24:43it it's you it's you oh is it me and that is so right on time right now because because the looks
24:51the voices the antics getting on the fellas all of it like i know that's not getting on the fellas
24:58but i really don't he's just mad about his dallas cowboy oh my god and that is why we love you
25:03that's why we rounded up um our own little montage oh i want to see it oh give me the mic give me
25:09the um oh no please wait that's power oh ready
25:17and perp blah sorry
25:37do you want a body roll
25:45essence live starts
25:47all right how are you i was good until you came in the studio and caused a ruckus
25:58what do you mean bars bars we might let you get in on that next time yeah he over here trying to be
26:04doctatious must have been really hard working on all those hobbies i'm gonna get me a pompadour
26:09y'all ain't gonna hold me back i feel like anderson cooper boom
26:17y'all tried it it's okay i still love you we're family we're wearing onesies together
26:22go see onesie together stay together yes but you know i'm coming for all of y'all it has been such a
26:28fun year and essence live has even more fun stuff in 2016. yes can you imagine is it possible so keep
26:34watching every thursday right here on essence.com and as always you can connect with us anytime using
26:39the hashtag essence live and and you can even call in live to ask questions of our celebrity guests just
26:45email us at essence live at essence.com for more information all right ladies we're going to close
26:51out with an encore performance from gabby wilson singing have yourself a merry little christmas but
26:55before we get to that i told y'all i had some gifts i don't know if y'all should still get them after
26:59that little montage i don't know what y'all think essence live but this is poor vu oh thank you
27:10merry christmas everyone are we toasting of course we have to toast in our munch
27:16do we have to look each other in the eye oh yeah and then you have to sit
27:19have a merry christmas everyone cheers thank you i'm hoping mine now what's your point
27:27wait you have to share i don't know what it is
27:31i love that one
27:34it's chocolate it's yours though we likey thank you thank you
27:40have yourself a merry little christmas
27:45let's let your heart be
27:51let your heart be
27:56from now on your troubles will be out
28:02of silence
28:12have yourself
28:14have yourself a merry little christmas
28:20make the yuletide
28:23gain
28:25a merry little christmas
28:27from now on your troubles will be mine
28:33away
28:37here we are as in olden days
28:48happy golden days
28:50happy golden days
28:52of yore
28:56faithful friends
29:00who are dear to us
29:02gather near to us
29:04gather near to us
29:06once more
29:10more
29:15through the years
29:17through the years we
29:19all will be together
29:23if the fates
29:26allow
29:27hang a
29:31hang a
29:33shining
29:35star
29:35upon the high
29:37is
29:39by
29:41oh
29:45and have
29:47yourself
29:49a merry
29:51little christmas
29:53christmas
29:55now
30:17oh
30:19faithful friends
30:21faithful friends
30:23who are dear to us
30:25gather near to us
30:27gather near to us
30:29once more
30:33oh
30:35through the years we
30:37all will be together
30:41if the fates
30:43if the fates
30:45allow
30:47but
30:51till then
30:53we'll have
30:55to muddle through
30:57somehow
30:59have
31:07have
31:09yourself
31:11a merry
31:13little
31:15christmas
31:17now
31:21oh
31:23have
31:25yourself
31:27a merry
31:29little
31:31christmas
31:33now
31:35now
31:37now
31:39now
31:41now
31:51thank you
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