50 years after Labelle’s ‘Chameleon’ album closed one of music’s most daring transformations,
Patti Labelle and Nona Hendryx revisit the album’s creation and initial reception, while heirs to their legacy Joi and Dawn Richard reflect on the groundbreaking blueprint the trio created for Black women to challenge convention.
Written by Sope Soetan - ESSENCE Labelle’s ‘Chameleon’ At 50 — The Radical Swan Song Of A Black Female Supergroup (July, 2026)