Bryan Williams, higher known by his nicknames “Birdman” or “Baby”, co-founded Cash Money Records along with his older brother Ronald “Slim” Williams in 1991. In addition to being a member of The Big Tymers with Mannie Fresh, Williams also released 4 solo albums –Bird-man (2002), Quick money (2005), 5 * Stun (2007) i Priceless (2009).

In addition to his direct releases, Williams is best known for locating BG, Juvenile, Turk and Lil Wayne, collectively often known as The Hot Boys. As head of Cash Money Records, he was instrumental in Wayne’s profession and business success, in addition to future artists including Drake and Nicki Minaj, who were signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment.

His performance during the series of evening live shows of the ESSENCE 2024 Cultural Festival on the occasion of the “30th anniversary of cash” will provide participants with loads of surprises.

Saadiq rose to fame as a member of the multi-platinum group Tony! Toni! Tone! In the nineties. In addition to his solo and group profession, he has also produced songs for artists comparable to Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Total, D’Angelo, TLC, En Vogue, Kelis, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi, Whitney Houston, Solange Knowles and John Legend.

In 1998, Saadiq left his group after releasing their last studio album House of Music. The following yr, Saadiq contacted Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Dawn Robinson to form a brand new supergroup, and the three began recording an album under the name Lucy Pearl. In 2017, Saadiq was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the song “Mighty River” from the Netflix film Mud.

Fresh off the success of this yr’s Roots Picnic, the Philadelphia collective continues to put claim to being certainly one of the biggest groups of all time. Known for his or her jazzy and eclectic approach to hip hop using live musical instruments, the group’s work consistently receives critical acclaim. They currently play as the house band on a well-liked late night talk show on NBC, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

On Friday, The Roots will be joined by country star Mickey Guyton, whose music combines elements of latest country, pop and R&B. In 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, Guyton released the single “Black Like Me”, which is about her experiences as a Black woman in country music. The song helped further develop Guyton’s profession and earned her her first-ever Grammy nomination, becoming the first black woman ever nominated for Best Country Solo Performance.

Washington native Ari Lennox was the first artist signed to J. Cole’s label, Dreamville Records. During her profession, she released two critically acclaimed albums:Baby with shea butter (2019) i Age gender place of residence (2022). She was nominated for several awards from Soul Train and the NAACP, in addition to a Grammy nomination for her performance on the compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III.

Rounding out The Roots’ set is T-Pain, who burst onto the scene in 2005 with the single “I’m Sprung.” He has since appeared in nine Billboard Top 100 singles, including “Good Life” and “Blame It,” which won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance, respectively. Known for popularizing the use of auto-tune, T-Pain stays a pioneer in the music industry.

Busta Rhymes was an original member of Leaders of the New School, eventually going solo after just a few years with the group. In 1996, he released his first solo album, which included the successful single “Woo Hah!! I even have you all under control.” Over the course of his 30-year profession, Busta has released 11 solo projects, including 2023 Blockbustand was nominated for 12 Grammy Awards.

The Georgian native has been creating music for nearly 20 years. After the success of his first EP I’m Jacqueesre-released an independently distributed project, 19which peaked at number 15 in the US Billboard Most popular R&B albums. The EP gained recognition from Birdman, prompting the latter to sign him to his label Cash Money Records. With three albums, five EPs and a slew of singles under his belt, the singer continues to shine in the highlight.