[ m a r y . j ' s . g o t . h e r . g r o o v e . b a c k ]
[ t e x t . o n l y . v e r s i o n ]
by Cyclone Wehner
The pervasive image of Mary J Blige is of a prima donna with a dislike of media intrusion. Critics say she's temperamental. Difficult. Indifferent. So no wonder she uses album credits to thank those journalists 'who have shined a positive light on Mary J Blige'.
Today it takes Blige, 27, just a few lively minutes to flip such unfavourable descriptions. She comes across as self-possessed, smart and playful. She laughs a lot -- both at herself and at the world at large. They say laughter is the best medicine for pain -- and, Lord knows, Blige has endured her share.
Like James Brown said -- it's a man's world. And when a woman strives to make herself heard, she's often dismissed as temperamental. Difficult. Indifferent. Blige has been there, done that.
These days Ms Blige is networking with her soul sistas (she counts Lil' Kim, Lauryn Hill and Chaka Khan among her allies). Most importantly, she's building her own empire with her business-minded older sister, LaTonya, by her side. It's all about empowerment, baby.
But has the soulstress who recorded the definitive soundtrack for a heartbreak, "My Life", found some serenity in her life? 'I'm happy, yep,' Mary says confidently. 'I'm happy with everything and I feel real good.'
This is indeed one busy sista. She has delivered one of the stand-outs on the soundtrack "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (the luscious ballad, "Beautiful"). She sings duets on new albums by Gerald Levert and Lauryn. To boot, Blige has recorded a song with Kirk Franklin for his latest gospel extravaganza, "The Nu Nation Project". The all-star single "Lean On Me" (not the Bill Withers' tune) also features R Kelly, Bono and Crystal Lewis. And that's not all. 'I just did something with George Michael and Babyface, which is going to be on George Michael's ("Greatest Hits") album,' Mary reveals. 'We covered a Stevie Wonder song -- one of the songs off "The Key Of Life" album. I like it. I think it's good.' She seems to savour the surprised reaction. Three studio albums down the track and Blige is in her element: she is being sought after for collaborations by everyone from Luther Vandross to Scary Spice.
What's more, Blige is currently working on her own label, Mary Jane Entertainment. 'I have a guy group, I have a girl and I have a rapper,' she rattles off. 'But right now we're working with a guy called Dustin Adams.' Mary strategically introduces the smooth soulster on her new live project, "The Tour". 'We grew up together,' she says briefly -- as if a little reluctant to let too much out of the bag just yet. At any rate, it's all lookin' good: Blige has already shown some flair for identifying fresh talent -- she was, after all, the one who brought The LOX to Puff Daddy's attention.
And, having made any number of memorable contributions to urban soundtracks (most notably the bittersweet "Not Gon' Cry" on the Babyface-produced "Waiting To Exhale"), Blige is now on the look-out for the right film script to make her big-screen debut. Mary has received any number of turkeys. 'I read 'em and I turn 'em down,' she laughs. 'I don't wanna rush and then get all messed up. I wanna do something that will stay and you'll be like, "Yeah, I knew Mary would do a part like that." I wouldn't like to be a slut or drug addict -- to me those things are degrading to women.'
All this (along with a soon-come clothing line) can't leave Blige with much time for a personal life. 'I miss it but I find a way to squeeze a lil' sumthin' in,' she teases. 'I like to look at old movies, read a book, go shopping or just relax out.'
Fame hasn't always been such smooth sailing for the glam diva with the fabulous designer clothes, blonde weave and tattoos. When she signed to Andre Harrell's Uptown Records, homegirl was still living in the notorious 'Slow Bomb' projects of Yonkers, New York (while born in The Bronx, Mary actually spent her formative years down South). The despondent Blige had left school early. Music was one of the few joys in her life. By chance, an amateur tape of her singing Anita Baker's "Caught Up In The Rapture" fell into the hands of Harrell. As much as she desired it, though, international celebrity would come as a shock to the reticent Blige.
At Uptown, Mary was groomed by a hungry young executive by the name of Sean 'Puffy' Combs. She gave a voice to the cultural revolution of the hip-hop soul he helped to parent. Inevitably, she came to be known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul (with Dr Dre's protege, Michel'le, the unheralded Queen Mom). This set up Blige for genre-defining sequences like her duet with Method Man, "You're All I Need" (a flip of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ballad), which went on to pick up a Grammy. Along the way, she's opened the doors for other street divas: Monica, Faith Evans and Sparkle.
Even among soul aficionados, Blige still finds her critics. But, while her pitch isn't always on the money, she sings with an emotional depth few can match. Mary's songs have the raw texture of old scar tissue. She carves out her own emotive notes from the splintered wood of ghetto life. And, somehow, Mary turns her experiences on America's margins into something universal. 'It's natural because it comes from the heart,' Blige says of her vocal delivery. 'It wouldn't come out like that if I was faking.'
With her most accomplished third album, last year's optimistic "Share My World", Blige deliberately passed over Puffy's services (and assumed the title of co-executive producer herself). There was much speculation that they'd fallen out. Mary inadvertently encouraged the rumours by evading questions about it in interviews. Nevertheless, Blige has since renewed her bond with Puff. She hasn't ruled out working with him again -- but on her own terms. 'I just wanted to do other things, work with other people and have my own thing goin' on,' she says. 'He was working with other people and doing his own album -- he's a superstar now too. Yeah, we will work together again one day in the future when he's not so busy.'
The turning point for Blige came in the aftermath of her sophomore, 1994's "My Life". Her most intensely personal to date, the album documented the breakdown of her love affair with Jodeci's charismatic K-Ci Hailey (arguably her true counterpart -- the King of Hip-Hop Soul). The self-effacing "My Life" also captured her sense of anguish, vulnerability and loneliness. It was acclaimed for encapsulating the cultural experience of African-American women.
In retrospect, Blige has expressed ambivalence towards the album (which, perhaps understandably, she still declines to identify as wholly autobiographical). 'At that time I wasn't too happy with my surroundings and how things was going,' she confides. 'There was just a lot of things happening in my life that I had to deal with.' And deal with them she did. She discovered 'self-love'.
In her anguished duet with Hill, "I Used To Love Him", both singers seem to be exorcising themselves from unhappy relationships. Blige sings the line, 'Content because that part of my life is finished.' Is she finally casting off "My Life"? 'I think it's just a song,' Mary says thoughtfully. 'It may have a little bit of some personal things in it . . . I guess there are some women that can relate to it -- including myself.'
While she has since been linked to the likes of Case, Nas and Malik Pendleton (who produced her smoky single, "Seven Days"), Mary insists that she is currently more focussed on her career.
And Blige is already well into her fourth studio LP, for which she's cutting tracks with the likes of Chucky Thompson, Babyface, Jam & Lewis, Keith Crouch and Pendleton. 'I'm very happy with it,' she says.
Indeed, Mary has got her groove back.
"The Tour" is out through Universal.