Celebrity Coverage
In the Chair with: Brandon Horsley-Thompson – Essence

Courtesy of Brandon Horsley-Thompson
When Brandon Horsley-Thompson was a youngster applying for a summer job in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri, who had his eye on a hair salon. But he admits it was a lie that helped him get in. “They signed me up for the barbershop because as a 14-year-old gay kid from the Midwest, being a barber wasn’t what you wanted to be. But it all worked out,” Horsley-Thompson tells ESSENCE.
He started off as a “hair wash boy” who also had the task of “sweeping up the hair.” Soon, the budding skilled caught the eye of a certified stylist at the salon. After a month of observing him, she asked him to “help her stick the marks.” Horsley-Thompson felt that all the pieces got here naturally to him. It was confirmation that he was exactly where he was alleged to be.
At age 15, he moved to Dallas and enrolled in cosmetology school in highschool. Although he didn’t pursue cosmetology after graduation, hair was all the time something Horsley-Thompson did in his spare time.

When he enlisted in the Navy, Horsley-Thompson spent his deployment “doing extensions and cornrows.” He then did a series of presidency jobs, and the GI Bill helped him proceed his studies at a hairdressing school in Dallas, Texas. But his ambitions were greater than styling at a neighborhood salon. Despite this, he moved to Los Angeles with the intention of working in television, film, and production.
“I had to do 100 more hours to get my license in California or stay in Dallas. But I was ready,” he says. “So I signed up for Tony & Guy. My first week there, I shot a commercial and starred in a commercial. I just knew L.A. was for me.”
Taking a seat behind the chair at Drybar in Studio City was also a sensible profession move for Horsley-Thompson, because it helped him make some necessary connections in Hollywood. The hair and makeup artist has worked with stars like Angelika RossMissy Elliott and Keke Wyatt, in addition to brands like Hennessy, Jack Daniels, Target and Kohl’s.
“I’ve noticed that in this industry, it’s not common to be nice, on time and get the job done. When you have those things, it sets you apart,” she says. “As a creative and a hairdresser, we get so many monetary rewards, but it’s nice to give back and share the gift.”
Below, Horsley-Thompson shares the most vital lesson he’s learned from the women in his chair, the straightener he cannot live without, and more.

His favorite hairstyles
I believe my aesthetic is classic and effortless. My job is to create the look – and my job is to coach my clients on maintain that look. Hair can look great the day you wear it, but when it looks 85 percent the same because it did three days later, that is what I like. I like loose, effortless, combable hair!
His current favorite products
This Pravana Nevo Intense Therapy – leave-in treatment. Regardless of the hair structure or race of the person, you should use this product on everyone. It is a very good base for blow-drying, braids, twist-outs. And it doesn’t weigh down the hair like other products.
Kenra Professional This is one other considered one of my favorite brands. I like their formulas because they moisturize but don’t weigh your hair down, so you may get the most out of the products. Remington I made this little straightener. I am unable to find it anywhere! The day it comes out, please check me out. It has a bevel. You can apply it to the edges and it just smooths them out. No one has ever said, “This burns me.”
His top tip for healthy hair
I’d say wash your hair with warm or cool water because hot water dries it out. It feels good but it surely doesn’t do anything.

The hair myth I need to bust
That “my hair can’t do that.” I all the time tell people it is not “my hair can’t do that,” it’s about the approach to getting the hair to where you would like it to be. If you’ve someone who has shorter hair and so they feel like their hair won’t look a certain way. They might want to think about a side part as a substitute of a middle part.
What he learned from his clients
Clients have poured out their grievances on me about how I run my very own business—including arrange an LLC and never be a sole proprietorship only for insurance purposes. I actually have gained the most from the women I actually have served, learning business ethics.
How he lifts the spirits of his customers
I tell them that there is barely one “you” and that you simply are doing the best you may. So in case you get into this thing, whatever it’s, you shine. I feel like I’m an ear to listen because sometimes people just need to talk it out. They don’t really want my input. They just need an “uh huh” or a “yeah” or a “hmm” to get them on the path that they already know is true. I try not to present advice because I’m not a therapist, but I do know that I make decisions by myself just by talking it out loud and having someone in the room. Add to that a pleasant shampoo, a done hairdo, walking out of the house feeling like the best version of yourself, and the answer is yours.
Celebrity Coverage
The “R&B Cookout” route is a family congress we were waiting for – Essence

(Photo Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for M2M Construction)
There is something saint in black cooking. The edition of the rib smell within the air, two -stage hymns playing from the Bluetooth speaker and aunt are in trouble in sundresses and sneakers. It’s greater than a meal-it’s a memory creation. And this summer, the legend of R&B Charlie Wilson bottles this very magic and takes it on the road.
We present uncle Charlie’s R&B Cookout, twenty first City Festival of Black Music, Joy and Points, containing a composition that feels like a list of playback of Greatest Hits: Babyface, K-Ci Hailey and El Debarge. The route begins in Hollywood Bowl on August 27 (without a debrie for chosen dates) and the night of high notes, harmony and residential vibrations.
“This route is not other than everything I did before,” said Wilson in a statement. “As someone who really loves R&B, sharing the scene with my friends Babyface, K-Ci and El is something that I really can’t wait for … R&B Cookout will be one great family meeting for us and our fans.”
For long -time fans of Charlie Wilson – voice for Gap Band’s “Outstanding” And solo hits akin to “Ich Goes My Baby” – this moment is serious. If he hadn’t been yet, this route strengthens him as a cultural Unc, one which hugs the last, wisdom that is still and the songs that the soundtrack of our lives.
And although the music itself is definitely worth the price of admission, the experience of the route sinks deeper. In chosen cities, fans will probably be treated for cooking throughout alive, together with classic dishes, specialized cocktails and a climate chosen for culture. Think: Soul Food meets Soul music, under one nostalgic summer sky.
“The idea came naturally,” said Michael Paran, CEO p music and co-producer of the route. “Instead of building the perfect list of cooking reproduction, I wanted to revive it … This trip is more than great performances. It’s about capturing this feeling.”
And this sense? Remembering your old flame as Babyface “Atut” atmosphere. This is Falsets El Debarge rising like smoke through an open window. It is love, heritage and rhythm-useed and slow.
Regardless of whether you stop together with your day by day or fiercely solo, uncle Charlie’s R&B Cookout is a place where culture will probably be gathered this fall. See the total list of concert dates below.
Dates of concert tours:
- August 27 – Hollywood, California – Hollywood Bowl*
- August 29 – Concord, Ca – Toyota Pavilion*
- September 5 – Detroit, Mi – Little Caesars Arena
- September 6 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island
- September 7 – St. Louis, Mo – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
- September 11 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
- September 12 – New York, NY – Jones Beach Amphitheatre
- September 13 – Boston, Ma – leader Bank Pavilion
- September 14 – Philadelphia, Pa – TD Pavilion in Mann
- September 19 – Raleigh, NC – Coast Union Music Park
- September 20 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Arena
- September 21 – Virginia Beach, Va – United Home Amphitheatre
- September 26 – Houston, Texas – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
- September 27 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheater
- September 28 – Dallas, Texas – Toyota Music Pavilion
- October 3 – Nowy Orlean, La – Smoothie King Arena^
- October 4 – Atlanta, Ga – Chastain Park*
- October 5 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
- October 10-Birmingham, Al-Coca-Cola Amphitheatre
- October 11 – Brandon, MS – Brandon Amphitheater*
- October 12 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
*Does not disintegrate
Celebrity Coverage
Exhibition “Internal cartography: exhibition” Internal cartography “Basil Kincaid – Essence

Basil Kincaid. Thanks to the kindness of Sutton.
One of probably the most difficult tasks of life is to look within the mirror – not only to see the reflection, but to confront the elections that shape who we’re. This kind of deep self -control requires patience, courage and most of the time discomfort. For Basil Kincaid, exploration of yourself shouldn’t be a fleeting phase or philosophical entertainment – this can be a necessity. His latest exhibition, now visible in Library Street Collective in Detroit, is a striking meditation on the emotional and spiritual identity area.
Known for richly layered textile works, Kincaid moves beyond traditional forms, creating elements that function each a portrait and a process. Quilting, embroidery, drawing, digital rendering – these elements mix to create something that it calls “fiber optic vignettes” by which color and composition mix to assist the viewer and artists, with personal assessment.

Works made between studies in St. Louis and Ghana shapes Kincaid’s constant movement in physical and psychological landscapes. He talks openly about how the placement not only affects his art, but in addition about how he sees himself and the way others can see him. “I look at how my life changes and perceiving me based on where I am,” he explained. “There are differences in how I perceive me [Missouri]If I only go on the street, compared to how I perceive me in the museum, giving me a speech – people look at me and experience me one way, and then direct experience changes their perception. “
This changing view drives many topics. Each piece begins with a drawing, passes through a series of digital manipulation in Photoshop, after which it’s embroidered and stretched like a canvas. Kincaid believes that these media are usually not so different, but as a part of the continuum. “The way the work is done presents questions about the place and how the sites affect the way of thinking, acting and creation,” explained the artist.
The Kincaid hybrid method can also be a deliberate rejection of the hierarchy, which has long devalued some materials or procedures. “Drawing is often seen as a lower form,” he noted. “But for me it is so fundamental.” This sentiment extends to fiber optic art, which it insists, deserves to be treated with the identical seriousness and depth as any so -called art. In the hands of Bazylia, jacquard loom – binary weaving system from 1800 – becomes a robust metaphor for early calculations, structure, history.

“It can be argued that the progress in fiber optic art technology has led to a kind of social change in the way we think it allows the possibility of processing and all other things we experience and on dependencies,” said Kincaid. “It seems to me that we exist on this type of diagram of Venna reality, by which everyone has a digital cybernetic avatar or multiply on various social applications; you create this simulakra yourself to present. When you create your image of yourself, which you think about to be perfect and put it on this thought space, it also affects the best way you consider yourself, and which you could be positive or negative based on the way you react on conditions Socialty or you set them in other places with them.
Although it’s deeply rooted in innovation, its basis is what Kincaid calls “emotional defragmentation”. Like a pc sorting its files for more efficient startup, Kincaid changes through personal memories – each joyful and difficult – and again again. “The most difficult is to face errors; but instead of dividing these memories, it treats them as integral. Black shapes point out many works, symbolizing absence, but weight.” When you are trying to ignore bad memory, you’ll finally forget many memories round her, which may be good ” – he added.
In this breakthrough effort, the viewer doesn’t observe Kincaid’s journey – they’re invited to their very own. “I wanted this work to be a less telling story, and more about this process of hiking and reflection; experience in the desert,” he said. This openness implies that the exhibition seems less like a “art show”, and more like an internal pilgrimage with a guide.
Literary influence – something newer within the creative practice of basil – also goes through this work. Russell’s heritage gave a language to a few of the complexity with which Kincaid struggled around a mess and existence. Octavia Butler also left an indication – not only by telling stories, but through its fierce artistic discipline. “She had a clear determination that was not room for excuses,” Kincaid wondered. “It forced me to dig even deeper and give me another layer of myself.”

And that is what it offers: Pureless layer of considering, process and self -esteem. The exhibition shouldn’t be intended to connect identity, but to maintain space for its contradictions. At a time when we regularly feel forced to pack and perform ourselves – digitally, socially, culturally – kincaid relies on this. Instead, the artist sets a series of labor, which is as wealthy in intellectually as he’s honest.
“Art is to be a place of freedom,” said Kincaid. And at this exhibition this freedom pulsates every thread, every shadow and each map derived from the meeting of life.
It is visible until May 21, 2025 at Library Street Collective.
Celebrity Coverage
Pepa and daughter Treach Weds “Gorning up hip hop” in a small ceremony in Las Vegas

Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for V TV
Recently, bells for the daughter of rappers Sandra “Pepa” Denton and Anthony’s “Treach” Criss rang. Egypt Criss, a 23-year-old star of Wetv, married her star, rapper and long-time Beau Samuel “Sam Mattick” Wright during a small ceremony at Little Vegas Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 31. Guests are the parents of Egypt, Pepa and Treach-and Rapper Layza Thugs-N-Harmony.
The couple got engaged in 2019 and finally rolled up in the passage after Pandemia stopped the plans to bind the node in December 2020. Despite the delays, it was price waiting for Egypt.
“Sam and I couldn’t be happier,” she said AND! News. “According to Pedro Calderon de la Barca … When love is not madness, it is not love.”
If you’re wondering what she understands by “madness”, the couple was in the middle of a lot of drama, and the celebs and viewers are critical of their relationship and Wright motifs to be together with her. She collapsed over this loved one, classified critics in social media, and even physically fought to guard Wright. They stood with them due to all this, and now they’re a husband and wife.
“I want to thank everyone for beautiful congratulatory wishes 🙏, I am full of love and joy,” she wrote on Instagram. “In addition, so grateful to God for combining us in a holy marriage and grateful for starting a beautiful journey with a great support system and know that our love can do us through anything.”
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