via Teyana Instagram
Janet Jackson and Teyana Taylor reunited following Janet’s headlining set on Sunday night at Essence Festival 2018, for the first time since their emotional meeting last year.
Teyana took to Instagram following the weekend to share some of their behind the scenes snaps where Tey, her husband, Iman Shumpert, and other friends were able to hang with the Queen of pop. She shared an emotional caption to describe her second encounter between “motha” and “daughta.”
??❤ Daughta Petuniaaaaa x Motha Petuniaaaaaaa, INCREDIBLE. My whole voice is gone from all the screaming that was done last night! You are simply amazing @janetjackson and u killlllledddddd last night but that ain’t nothing new! ?????????? plus after these very pics here, the way we was kiki’n was ah kiiiiiiiiii! Lawdddd I’m dead ? lol so dope, so humble & mad coooool! I love you!!!!! ❤?
In other Essence news, this years annual festival brought in one of it’s biggest crowds to date making it one of the most attended years of the conferences 24 years according to NOLA.com.
The 2018 Essence Festival attracted more than 510,0000 attendees to New Orleans this past weekend, making it one of the largest gatherings in the event’s 24-year history. It comes close to the 20th anniversary Essence Festival in 2014, which holds the record with a reported 550,000 fans.
The fest drew 470,000 attendees in 2017. Riding on the smash success of the Essence-themed “Girls Trip,” a 2017 movie starring Queen Latifah (who performed this year at Essence), many believed this year’s fest would set attendance records.
For the first time ever, Essence reports, all three nights of the Essence Festival concert series at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome sold out. Sunday night (July 8) featured Janet Jackson, Fantasia and Big Freedia; Saturday night, Queen Latifah and pioneering women in rap, plus movie star heartthrob Idris Elba spinning records and Mary J. Blige; and Snoop Dogg, Jill Scott, the Roots and Erykah Badu on Friday night.
“This extraordinary gathering of nearly half a million attendees–on the eve of the ESSENCE Festival’s 25th anniversary — speaks to the unmatched convening power of our culture,” said Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications, in a press release. “As one of the country’s largest curated live experiences, the ESSENCE Festival engages Black women globally — through a truly unique celebration of culture, connection to community and access to content that inspires and empowers.”
It’s probably safe to say that next years 25th anniversary will be the biggest year yet, and we will surely be in attendance.
