00:00What's up, Essies? It's your girl, Empress Barnado. I am the senior social producer here at Essence,
00:06and today we're talking all things Essence Festival of Culture. That's right. This year,
00:12Essence Festival is coming back to New Orleans, and today I'm speaking with the men of Essence
00:17who are going to give the fellas some tips and tricks for navigating the hottest festival in
00:22the nation. Today, I have Greg Emanuel, our style and beauty contributor. What's up, Greg? How are
00:29you? Doing well, doing well. Next, we have Mr. Jean-Marc Petit, our digital account manager.
00:35Hello, Mr. Jean-Marc. Hello. And last but not least, we have Mr. Corey Jarvis, our senior social editor,
00:43aka the Caption King. We know you watched Essence on social media. It's all Corey. What's up,
00:50Corey? How are you? What's up, everybody? All right, so we're going to jump straight into it,
00:54right? So what are you most looking forward to Essence Fest in 2022? I'm looking forward
01:01to just the vibes, like the vibes of New Orleans, the vibes of Essence Fest, of, you know, just like
01:08a Black function that's all getting together. You know how we give. We love to have fun. We love to
01:14love on each other. There's so many great singers and performers. I'm excited for them all, but
01:18Jasmine Television is definitely at the time. So this is, what, I think this is my third Essence
01:23Festival. So I think what I'm most excited about, what I tell every people, everybody about,
01:28it's just like, Essence Festival is just one-on-one, like community, like just seeing Black people
01:33literally like take over everything and occupy, like I think all the spaces in New Orleans is like
01:40a huge deal. I think the music is always the background, of course, to the party. So I'm
01:44definitely looking forward to that. I think as far as performers, who I am looking most forward to,
01:51I am excited to see what Nicki Minaj does. I mean, you know what I'm saying? I think it's already
01:57been set up like a Pink Friday, like kind of situation. And I know like when we announced it,
02:01folks were just like, like, Nicki, I got Nicki. So I think like literally seeing like Nicki Minaj,
02:06hopefully we get that monster verse, you know what I'm saying? Like live. So if that's a moment
02:11that I think will shock, I think like everybody, I'm looking forward to Nicki. Interestingly enough,
02:16this is my first rodeo I've never been to Essence Fest before. And I guess pretty much is just the
02:22anticipation of, you know, just not knowing what really to expect. I mean, you know, being part
02:28and seeing the whole planning and organization of Essence Fest. And I'm just really looking forward to
02:34really enjoying the full excitement of what Essence Fest has to really bring, you know, the food, the music,
02:41the people, and seeing how the sponsors, you know, look on Essence Fest and all of that.
02:47The theme this year is, it's the joy for me. Right? Essence Fest is bringing the joy back into just the
02:56world. I'm super excited about that. So speaking about joy, how do each of you activate the Black
03:03boy joy, right, within yourself? And why is it important for Black men to do that? We always hear
03:08about Black girl magic, Black girl joy. And I just want to know how do you activate the Black boy joy
03:14within you? In the simplest terms, it's just like showing up every day, wherever I am as my full
03:19self. And being unapologetic about it, whether it be me taking out my dress and letting them hang,
03:26or it be the way I dress, or it be the music I play, and just being unapologetic about it.
03:35And I think it's important for Black men to showcase their joy and be in touch with their emotions
03:41and their feelings, because a lot of times we're painted as these hard and figures and unemotional.
03:46So I think having examples of that, you know, may inspire a younger man coming up to know that
03:53that's okay to do that. And you don't have to be so stern. And you can also enjoy life.
04:00Well, for me, it's more of a, you know, personal thing in terms of, you know, personal self-care,
04:05like, you know, maybe self-hygiene, a little bit of exercise, a mix of play, work, and some
04:13indulgence. And of course, you know, like, you know, just appreciated the moments in life, you know,
04:18as everyone else is mentioning, you know, like spending time with family, with friends, going out
04:23for brunch, going out for drinks, and just really hanging out. So that really brings me joy and really
04:29that balance between work and life. And, you know, to keep that mental sanity, that physical sanity,
04:35to just keep going.
04:36So I think what Black Boy Joy just, like, means to me is just unfiltered, just do what you kind
04:44of want to do. You wake up and you kind of just, I think, prioritize what freedom means to you as
04:49well, too. Because I think freedom is a part of joy. I think that's, like, the final resting place of joy
04:54is, like, freedom. So I think, like, however you can exhibit that on a day-to-day.
04:59What I think personally just brings me Black joy, honestly, is just the spectrum of what it is to
05:06be Black. Like, everything from Black excellence to what some may define as, like, hood. Like, I am
05:13the full spectrum, I think, of all of it. And, like, I live that. And I feel like that that is
05:18something I think, especially, like, in the corporate space, that sometimes we try to, like,
05:22we try to do. So as Greg says, just kind of, like, just showing up as your full authentic self
05:27and showing the wide spectrum of what it means to be Black brings me personal joy. So, like,
05:33if y'all see that in the captions or if y'all see that in anything that, like, I feel like
05:37I touch, like, that's joy to me, to you. So, yeah.
05:41All right. So, one of our favorite boy band groups, like, forever group, New Edition is
05:50back to perform at this year's Essence Festival, right? Let's take a step down memory lane for
05:55a second. If you are a fan, tell me which member of this infamous boy band did you used
06:01to emulate as a teenager? I don't see myself emulating one member in particular, but definitely
06:07the dance moves, especially with TikTok being, like, the new social media platform. Like,
06:13I got to get hit. I got to stay up to date. So, I've been trying to learn these TikTok dances.
06:18But my favorite one lately has been one that's based on one of New Edition's, like, Greatest
06:24Moves. Okay. Yeah. Which move is that? Like, the latest...
06:28One of our greatest dance sequences, I would say. It's like, um, I don't... How can I do
06:32it in the camera? Um... You can do that. It's like, um, that. Just the hand. Just the...
06:39Oh, yeah.
06:40If I... You know, I have to do a Google on this just to make sure. And so, if I'm incorrect,
06:53y'all, blame Google. Don't blame me. But, you know, I looked up the network.
06:58Uh, who I would want to be. And I'm like, you know, if there is, you know, lifelong success
07:04that is followed by money, of course. So, like, Michael Bivins. You know what I'm saying?
07:08So, like, not only was he in New Edition, but also, you know, like, D is what I'll do.
07:13So, I was like, I could do that. But, I mean, I would be remissed if I did not grow up wanting
07:19to be, like, Bobby Brown. I mean, like, Bobby Brown had it off. You know what I'm saying?
07:22Like, we can name the names of everybody that Bobby touched, um, literally. So, uh, yeah,
07:31though, Bobby Brown was that guy. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, that, my prerogative,
07:35like, set up, like, album outside of, like, you know, New Edition. You know, hopefully we
07:39get, you know, some one-on-one kind of experiences with, you know, Bobby. But I did recently see
07:43them on tour, y'all. So, like, if they do anything that's like, you know, the tour that they're
07:48currently on, like, right now, they're going to kill it. So, like, I welcome New Edition
07:51and every person that they have. So, I can't wait.
07:56So, what would be your boys' group name since the boys' group are all together?
08:01Now, that's a good question.
08:04Well, you know what? We'll let the Essies figure that out. All right. So, Essies, let us
08:09know what the boys' group name should be for the fellas here. All right. Thank you so much,
08:14Greg Emanuel, Jean-Marc Petit, and Mr. Corey Jarvis.
08:18Thank you to the men of Essence for joining us for this episode of Let's Talk
08:21About Fest. Fellas, in general, we want to see you at Essence Festival of Culture
08:27this year. We are coming back to the big easy June 30th through July 4th, and you
08:32don't want to miss this year's lineup. Get your tickets now at Essence.com.
08:58.
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