May 10, 2024

Introducing The 2024 May/June Magazine Covers We Love

Step into a world where melanin is celebrated and creativity thrives. Our collection of magazine covers showcases the diverse beauty of melanin-rich skin and the vibrant work of creatives of color. In 2024, it's vital to honor and amplify these voices, shaping a more inclusive and representative cultural landscape.

Rolling Out

Peter Macon Graces Cover of Rolling Out's Latest Issue

In the half-century since the first film, much has changed in America’s cultural landscape, but unfortunately, there are some societal issues that remain the same. One of the only similarities between the debut film and Macon’s current blockbuster is the infamous line Charlton Heston’s character George Taylor said, “I can’t help thinking somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man.”

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Writer: Christal Jordan

The principal behind Enchanted Branding & PR, a premier entertainment agency based in Atlanta. She also is a media trainer/ consultant and pop culture analyst. Self-proclaimed feminist and equestrian-in-training. You can see more of Christal on her website http:musiclivelifeshow.com

Photographer: NP Photography

Known as one of the Elite Photographers of Atlanta, Nathan Pearcy was born in a small hometown in Asheville, NC. His mom later relocated to Atlanta where he has been since childhood. It was here where he began to know photography and design as his life long fulfilling passion.

HelloBeautiful

Monica Graces Cover of Hellobeautiful's Mother's Day Issue

Recharging is a self-care remedy Monica plans to implement while traveling state to state despite it not being second nature for her to ask for a break. “I’m not one that is good at saying, ‘I need time, I need a break, I need space. I need a moment.’ That was never easy for me.”

Monica has been transparent with her fans about her health and struggles with heart disease. In 2021, she shared she underwent eight-hour endometriosis surgery. According to HuffPost, Monica was diagnosed, at 18, with a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse, which doctors discovered after the “Trust” singer collapsed at a Washington D.C. show.

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Writer: Shamika Sanders

Shamika Sanders is the Managing Editor for HelloBeautiful where she carries out a vision to uplift black women by telling their unique stories.

Photographer: Dalvin Adams

Dalvin Adams is the CEO and Owner of the Atlanta based photography company D.AdamStudios. He is a bicoastal photographer raised in Louisiana and has captured visionary photographs and visuals since 2015.

Allure

Willow Smith Graces Cover of Allure's The Beauty Expert Issue

Willow has been in the spotlight since she was nine years old, performing her hit, “Whip My Hair” and singing on tour with Justin Bieber. So, she is really good at the work thing. In fact, her team warned me that if they didn’t tell her to come out, Willow would stay in the audio booth for hours. That level of commitment to her craft, be it writing or singing, is what defines her latest era. She uses words like “devotion” and “expansion” to describe what she is seeking in her career.

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Writer: Jessica Cruel

Jessica Cruel is the editor in chief of Allure, where she leads the development of multiplatform editorial content for print, digital, and video platforms. At Allure, she spearheaded the launch of The Melanin Edit, a new platform exploring all things relating to Black beauty.

Photographer: Zhong Lin

From intimate personal portraits to close-ups of natural forms, Zhong Lin’s photographs seem to inhabit the aura of another world. Born in Malaysia and based in Taiwan, Zhong Lin has become known for her splendid, surreal, and sensuous style. We caught up with the self-taught photographer to discuss her childhood, creative process, and inspirations.

Variety

Shonda Rhimes Graces Cover of Variety's Power of Women Issue

Rhimes’ and her company Shondaland’s viral power has only increased since she entered an overall deal with Netflix in 2017, which launched the England-set “Bridgerton” universe (comprising two completed seasons and the upcoming third season, which will premiere on Netflix on May 16 and June 13), last year’s “Queen Charlotte” prequel, as well as a consumer products line that includes tea sets, ornate mirrors, makeup and even wedding dresses. Despite how long each season of “Bridgerton” takes to make — Season 3 is premiering more than two years after Season 2 — Rhimes and her longtime producing partner, Betsy Beers, are committed to bringing all eight of Julia Quinn’s novels to the screen. “I’ll be a granny gumming my food,” Beers says of how long the endeavor will take, “but we want to make sure that there’s ‘Bridgerton’ for all of us who love it.”

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Writer: Kate Aurthur

Photographer: Victoria Stevens

Harper’s BAZAAR

Anok Yai Graces Cover of Harper’s BAZAAR's Beauty Issue

Last year, with her career in full swing, Yai made the decision to step back to complete a residency at artist Kehinde Wiley’s workspace and retreat, Black Rock, in Dakar, Senegal. “I booked myself out for one month, and I basically disconnected my phone,” she says.

That willingness to explore the unfamiliar is on display when we first meet. Yai had mentioned wanting to go to a museum, and when she arrives at the Met’s Great Hall, she is wearing a pink beanie, a black satin bomber jacket delicately embroidered with flowers, and black pants. “This looks so different from the Met ball,” she says. She’s only ever been here before to attend that event—in 2021 in Oscar de la Renta, in 2022 in hot-pink Michael Kors, and in 2023 in oxidized gold-and-silver Prabal Gurung.

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Writer: Kaitlyn Greenidge

In addition to being the features editor at Harper's Bazaar, Kaitlyn Greenidge is also an accomplished novelist; her debut novel We Love You, Charlie Freeman (Algonquin Books), is one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. Her writing has appeared in the Vogue, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, Elle, Buzzfeed, Transition Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, American Short Fiction and other places.

Photographer: Ethan James Green

Ethan James Green’s distinctive eye for the personal and essential beauty of his subjects has made him one of the most compelling photographers working today. The Michigan-born, New York-based photographer blends the frankness of his native midwest with the breadth and brilliance of his adopted city resulting in portraits of astonishing intimacy that capture and amplify the essence of his subjects. Working in themes such as contemporary identity, sexuality, and style, he has built a body of work singular in its depth and point of view.

ESSENCE

Usher, Russell Wilson, and Damson Idris Graces Cover of ESSENCE's May/June Issue

Usher Raymond is at peace. A true showman who goes above and beyond on the stage, the crooner could be expected to be a ball of kinetic energy offstage too. But as we begin our conversation, he’s very calm. His tone is warm and mellow. Not tired, as well-known figures often are when interviewed after a long stretch in a studio or on a set—but not overly energetic, either. He’s present, confident and engaged.

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Writer: Victoria Oluloye

A graduate of the prestigious journalism school at the University of Missouri, Victoria have been writing professionally for more than a decade. Health and wellness is her favorite topic, but she also love writing about cars, pop culture, and all things pertaining to Black women.

Photographer: Adrienne Raquel

Adrienne Raquel is a photographer and creative director working between New York & Los Angeles. Inspired by femininity, soulfulness, and color, Adrienne's work is rooted in nostalgia and fantasy while remaining fresh and contemporary. Exhibitions include Aperture's New Black Vanguard, Jeffrey Deitch: Shattered Glass Miami, and Mickalene Thomas' Better Nights at Miami's Bass Museum.

Born in Cincinnati and raised in Richmond, Wilson was an active child, playing basketball, football and baseball. “I’ve loved sports my whole life,” the 35-year-old says. “The love came from my dad and my brother, and from playing against them.” He excelled in high school athletics and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team—but decided to further his education by enrolling for college at North Carolina State University. There, he excelled in football and baseball before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With his talent, Wilson had options when it came to sports, but it was guidance from a higher power that inspired him to focus on football.

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Writer: Okla Jones, III

Over a decade of experience in music and entertainment news, as well as fine art reviews and the critique of pop culture.

Photographer: Adrienne Raquel

One overcast, humid afternoon in March, I’m sitting in the historic Beverly Estate in Beverly Hills, where movies like The Godfather and The Bodyguard were filmed. Damson Idris, 32, is in head-to-toe Prada, wearing a twill sweater vest with matching pants. As of last year, he’s been an ambassador for the luxury brand—one he spent his first acting paycheck on. His love of fashion comes from his mother, who was shining in an indigo ensemble as his plus-one at the 2024 NAACP Image Awards. They have a tight-knit bond.

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Writer: Kory Jarvis

Photographer: Adrienne Raquel

TIME

Coco Gauff Graces Cover of TIME Magazine

When Naomi Osaka withdrew from the 2021 French Open to tend to her mental health, Gauff was the first tennis player to message her with support. Late last year, when 18-time major champion Chris Evert revealed that her ovarian cancer had returned, Gauff was one of the few active players to reach out to her. “When people see an athlete with her level of fame and fortune having humility and empathy for people around her and awareness of world events, it sends a clear message,” Evert tells TIME. “She’s focused. She’s fearless. We need some leaders in the women’s game. She definitely will be one of them. If not the one.”

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Writer: Sean Gregory

Sean Gregory is a senior sports correspondent at TIME. His work has been cited in the annual Best American Sports Writing anthology nine times.

Photographer: Daphne Nguyen

Daphne is an Australian-born Vietnamese artist working between photography and the moving image. Her interest in anything from the mundane to the extraordinary is guided by a sensitivity to colour and form, allowing her to build narratives in a non-conforming fashion.

Women's Health

Megan Thee Stallion Graces Cover of Women's Health's Body Issue

Four or five days a week, Megan sweats it out in Pilates class, at the gym, or at the beach with one of her two trainers, Emory “Joc” Bernard and Tim Boutte. For cardio, she runs up sand hills at the beach or spends 40 minutes on the StairMaster or elliptical. When targeting her legs and thighs, she does hip thrusts, goblet squats, leg extensions, and those “stallion kicks.” Weighted situps work her abs, and lat pulldowns, lat flies, and renegade rows strengthen her back.

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Writer: Jessica Rene Herndon

Jessica Herndon is an award-winning, Los Angeles-based writer who has contributed to Women's Health, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Elle, The Hollywood Reporter, Essence, the Associated Press, People, Spin, Flaunt, Nylon, and Seventeen.

Photographer: Ramona Rosales

Southern California native Ramona Rosales has an infatuation with color and experimentation with light. The bridge between Rosales’s fine art projects and commercial work is her unorthodox approach of mixing both analog and digital tools & technology. With pops of color and underlying risk taking, her energy and love for the medium come through each photograph.

VOGUE

Kendall Jenner Graces Cover of Women's Health's Body Issue

Because Jenner developed in the great Kardashian public image incubator, habitually in front of the camera since Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered when she was 11 (now simply called The Kardashians), she is a master of the art of talking about feelings while distilling out the facts that might have shaped them. Boyfriends? Breakups? She knows much better than to go there. “Let’s just say it’s personal-life-journey stuff,” she says. “I’m a stresser and a control freak by nature. I’ll thank my mom for that one. This is also kind of a transitional period for me. I’m 28 now, and I think I’m in my Saturn return.” (For the astrologically uninclined, Saturn, which revolves around the sun every 29.5 years, is the planet of wisdom and personal responsibility, and so a Saturn return involves the shaking off of external influences such as parents, teachers, and bosses, and becoming superintendent of one’s own life.) “I’m so tired emotionally, but I think it’s good. It’s almost like I’m purging something for my 30s. That’s my theory.”

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Writer: Rob Haskell

Rob Haskell is Contributor on Vogue

Photographer: Mert Alas And Marcus Piggott

Visit The Stylists Suite Page For Magazine Updates

Introducing The 2024 March Magazine Covers We Love

Introducing The 2024 February Magazine Covers We Love

Introducing The 2024 January Magazine Covers We Love