Jul 10, 2023

Introducing The Cover Stars of July Issue

Janelle Monáe Graces Cover of British Vogue's July Issue

Monáe has a playful, puckish glint in her eyes when she talks outrageously about parties. She describes herself as always the first to “dive in the water with my clothes on and run around in the grass with my clothes off”. You can sense her enthusiasm for loose-lipped libertine love all over The Age of Pleasure, made as “a soundtrack for the beautiful Black and brown people all over the diaspora”. It was inspired by the Everyday People parties she helped host in her LA home, which brought together muses “all from different corners of the world”. The result sounds wonderfully free.

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Writer: Amel Mukhtar

Amel Mukhtar is an Associate Features Writer at British Vogue.

Photographer: Tim Walker

Tim Walker rose to prominence in the mid-1990's with his highly imaginative and fantastical photographs inspired by his love of fairy tales and a thirst for adventure. Since then, his exuberant fashion pictures and inimitable portraits have graced the pages of magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, W, Love, Another Man, and I-D.

Alexandra Shipp Graces Cover of Wonderland's Summer 2023 Issue

Covering our Summer 2023 issue, actor, producer, director extraordinaire Alexandra Shipp has found herself at the heart of one of the most anticipated releases of recent years: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. She discusses the film, the influence of its director, and the importance of representation in the industry.

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Photographer: Phil Chester & Sara Byrne

Halle Bailey Graces Cover of Wonderland's Summer 2023 Issue

Covering our Summer 2023 issue, The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey talks to co star Jonah Hauer King about the journey from the audition room to the big screen, and the profound impact the live-action remake is having in challenging the industry’s standards on representation.

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Photographer: Danny Kasirye

Ugandan-British photographer and director based between New York, London and Paris. Represented by Monday Artists worldwide.

DJ Khaled Graces Cover of Variety's Music Mogul of the Year

Khaled’s unique career path as a trailblazing force in hip-hop has earned him Variety’s Music Mogul of the Year honors. Despite the fame and fortune, the memory of his parents’ work ethic and experience remains top of mind. That’s why, as Khaled explains, he still handles all of his business transactions personally — and that’s down to paying the bills incurred by that 15,000-square-foot house that he bought for $26 million in 2018 (Khaled got the keys on his final night as opener for the Jay-Z and Beyonce On the Run II tour).

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Writer: Shirley Halperin

Shirley Halperin is Executive Editor of Music at Variety, where she spearheads music coverage for the print magazine and Variety.com. Through her 20-year career, she has held staff positions at Entertainment Weekly, Teen People and Us Weekly and was also a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.

Photographer: Devin Christopher

Experienced Owner with a demonstrated history of working in the photography industry. Skilled in Art Direction, Photojournalism, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Commercial Photography. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Bachelor's degree focused in Communication, General from SFSOHK.

Issa Rae and Team Graces Cover of Black Enterprise's Digital Cover

Rae’s credentials as a skilled storyteller are unquestioned, from her award-winning web series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl to her hit HBO show Insecure. And though she wears many hats—both in front of and behind the camera—actress, writer, director, and producer among them—her most impressive role is businesswoman.

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Writer: Alisa Gumbs

Alisa Gumbs is the executive managing editor of BLACK ENTERPRISE, planning and creating content across the company's print, digital, events, and broadcast platforms.

Photographer: Tayo Kuku Jr.

At the intersection of passion and purpose lies the ethos of self-taught artist Tayo Kuku Jr., who captures a variety of cultures and identities through his unique lens. Starting his career in Civil Engineering, Nigerian-American artist Tayo Kuku Jr. soon shifted his focus to pursue his passion for photography.

Tia Mowry Graces Cover of HelloBeautiful's June/July ‘Truth' Issue

After 14 years of marriage and birthing two beautiful babies, Tia Mowry woke up one day in October 2022 and posted to her nearly 12 million followers that she and her husband Cory Hardict were “going their separate ways.” They had come to the end of their road and were headed for divorce. Since she and Cory are both actors with long careers in Hollywood, folks started speculating that their industry temptations caused their split or questioned whether they made a rash decision overnight. It was neither.

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Writer: Cori Murray

Cori Murray wears many hats. But first she is a multi-platform storyteller. As the former Deputy Editor at ESSENCE (the company’s top editorial and content role), she led the brand’s digital and print platforms that serves 31 million Black women domestically and internationally.

Photographer: Michael Rowe

Jamaican-born photographer Michael Rowe has photographed some of the top names in the entertainment industry, including Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, Michael B. Jordan, Elizabeth Debicki, Ava DuVernay, Angela Bassett, Laverne Cox, Viola Davis, Spike Lee, Janelle Monáe and countless others.

Issa Rae Graces Cover of EBONY's July Issue

Taking a break from the roles Rae has held simultaneously for the past several years — writer, producer, and star — can be a challenge. It’s often demanded that Black women do it all, and without complaint. “The strong Black woman trope hasn’t really helped any of us because it’s become an expectation,” she says. “Even when you express vulnerability, people are like, ‘Nah, you’re strong. You got it, you’re gonna get through this.’ Well, what if I can’t? Is it okay, if I don’t make it through this?” Rae abandoned that exhausting theme with Insecure, which ran for five seasons on HBO, giving audiences a refreshing chance to see all aspects of Black womanhood.

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Writer: Delaina Dixon

Delaina Dixon is a writer, journalist and media personality who has written for numerous publications such as TV Guide, OK! Weekly and Avenue magazine. She broke celebrity news on VH1’s entertainment news series The Gossip Table for five seasons and is the author of the scripted series Lights, Camera, Eve, based on her experiences.

Photographer: Keith Major

New York City native Keith Major's love for photography and art began in his pre-teen years, when he attended after-school programs at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Pratt Institute. Keith specialized in photography at New York’s highly regarded High School of Art and Design, and after graduation attended the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Ariana DeBose Graces Cover of Marie Claire's Ambition Issue

DeBose’s own heroine’s journey is the stuff of fairy tales. After winning the Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar last year for her spectacular turn as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, the Afro-Latina star not only cemented her status as one of Hollywood’s reigning triple threats, but she made history, becoming the first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting and only the second Latina ever—ever!—to take home an acting Oscar.

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Writer: Lola Ogunnaike

Lola Ogunnaike For more than a decade, Lola Ogunnaike has traveled the globe as a feature writer and television correspondent, covering key events in entertainment, popular culture and politics for the New York Times, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, BET, MTV and Al Jazeera. In that time, Lola has interviewed a wide array of notable figures, from First Lady Michelle Obama and Jane Fonda to George Clooney, Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez, Kevin Costner, Oprah Winfrey and Chinua Achebe.

Photographer: Lelanie Foster

Lelanie Foster is a photographer from The Bronx, NY, whose work is centered in honoring the strength and beauty of black and brown people while encompassing themes of identity, sisterhood, beauty, and community. Lelanie’s unique perspective and sensitive approach to her subjects allows for imagery that reflects intimately warm and organic moments in a most delicate human way. For the movie Queen & Slim, Lelanie was handpicked to visually interpret the film through her photography.

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Introducing The Cover Stars of May Issue

Introducing The Cover Stars of April Issues

Introducing The Cover Stars of March Issues