Something about Mary -- Through many trials, Blige melds hip-hop and soul for her fans

Thu, Apr. 15, 2004


By AL HUNTER JR. -- huntera@phillynews.com


MINUTES BEFORE Mary J. Blige hit the Tower's stage, the scene in the old theater's lobby illustrated why the "queen of hip-hop soul" reigns unchallenged.

Knots of teenage girls and women in their 30s and 40s filled the ornate lobby. Separated by age and experience, but bonded by Mary J.'s emotive and soul-searing voice, both generations were dressed Mary J. style - blond hair, stylish skirts, boots and flashy designer sunglasses.

This cross-generational blend, witnessed two years ago when Mary was in town for her "No More Drama" tour, is expected to mix again Saturday and Sunday when Blige returns to the Tower. For when the Bronx, N.Y.-born Blige sings, women young and old listen. And relate.

"She has always been this person who will tell you the truth," said Jamie Foster Brown, publisher of Sister 2 Sister, an entertainment and lifestyle magazine for black women. "This is a ghetto girl who came up and is a major star. Big earrings, golden hair, talking trash."

Credited as the first performer to bring the beats and attitude of hip-hop to the melodies of R&B, Blige has always appealed to young people, said Power 99 radio personality Lisa Natson, aka Golden Girl. "She puts on a good show. The dancing, the routines, that keeps it cool with the young people. And making good music makes [her attractive] to the adults."

In hip-hop, where 12 years equals six lifetimes, Mary has withstood the fickleness of the music business and fans. She's frequently changed her image, keeping people in a constant state of expectation. No performer, Brown said, has come close to staging a hip-hop palace coup and snatching her tiara.

Beyonce and Janet? Mere pop singers, can't even walk through Blige's tough neighborhood. Ashanti? Mya? Cute, but porcelain to Blige's steel. Alicia? Truth be told, one day they may have to find some royal title for Alicia, who brings it on keyboards and through her voice.

Still, "I've never heard anyone unseat Mary," Brown said.

Since her 1992 debut album, "What's the 411?" loaded with hits "Real Love," "You Remind Me" and "Reminisce," propelled her into the limelight, Blige's life issues seemed to fuel her performances and strengthen her connection with fans.

Blige, who was unavailable to talk to the Daily News - something about wanting to save her voice - has been candid in previous interviews about her molestation at 5, drug use, abusive relationships, drinking, lack of confidence, difficult upbringing and thoughts of suicide.

"I had to use a substance to keep me feeling sexy," Blige, 33, told "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley last year. "I had to use alcohol to keep my mind off of the fact that somewhere deep inside of me, I was still ugly."

She was "buying boulders" of cocaine, she told Bradley, and used it to mask her insecurities. She had a reputation for being difficult.

"People didn't want to work with her because she was so high-maintenance," Brown said. "At one point, just to get Mary to go out and meet someone somewhere [cost] $6,000 just for hair and makeup."

She stopped using drugs around 2001. "She was lying on her bed and the sky looked like it came in on top of her," said Brown, who has interviewed Blige several times for Sister 2 Sister. That experience got her away from the drugs - but not drinking.

It took the death of her friend, singer Aaliyah, and a threat from boyfriend (now husband) Kendu Isaac that he'd leave her to push Blige away from the booze and closer to Christ.

Blige is a "TV churchgoer," Brown said. In the liner notes of her recent album "Love & Life," Blige thanks Frederick K.C. Price and Betty R. Price of the Crenshaw Christian Center, which has a large television ministry. Brown said Blige is reluctant to attend church because she's concerned that people will pick her apart over how she looks or what she wears.

Early in her career, Blige was more of an emoter than singer. Her tortured voice wasn't impressive or pretty, but it flailed at the soul.

Now, "There is a noticeable difference" in Blige's singing, said Golden Girl, who with Q-Deezy co-hosts Power 99's (WUSL-FM) "Dream Team" morning show.

"Mary J. Blige has really grown, her voice has grown...it was no secret she hadn't the greatest of voices [when she started out]. Whether that was due to being drug-related or [she] needed a vocal coach, I'm not certain."

Brown said Blige isn't a "singer-singer," like Vesta or Jeffrey Osborne. But that's her appeal.

"Mary has a commercial voice that people can sing along with," Brown said. "Not everybody can sing with 'singer-singers.' "

These days young people are not into "big powerful voices," Brown said, but like "friendly voices."

But will Blige's fans, used to her drama-filled life of misery, find solace and commonality with a clean and happy Mary?

In 2002, Associated Press music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody asked Blige if people say they liked her better depressed. "I always get that," Blige said. "I look at that as a negative shot at me...That's not cool. But at the same time, I have to live for me. Sorry. I love you. God bless you. But I cannot die in this with you...I haven't been singing sad music just to sell records. I've been trying to talk to somebody to save me. And a lot of my fans saved me."

Golden Girl said, "I would hate to think people take to her more being on drugs, especially since she's making such good music at this point."

Blige's latest album reunites the singer with her first producer, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

Released last August, the album has gone platinum (1 million copies) and continues to get exposure thanks to singles such as "Not Today" with Philly's Eve and "Love @ 1st Sight" featuring Method Man.

And yes, like virtually all of Blige's albums - and most hip-hop albums - it comes sample-heavy, including pieces of Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness" on "Message in Our Music," and "When Love Calls" on "Willing & Waiting." If one listens closely, what sounds like a piece of the Ohio Players' "I Want To Be Free" can be heard on the cut "Free."

But Blige is in fine voice here and obviously moving on to the next era of her career. Lots of songs about love and friendship. Off stage and out of the studio Blige, who had an eighth-grade reading level, has studied for a GED, Brown said. She's gotten out of $6 million in debt and is "trying to reach nirvana," Brown said.

"This is so opposite to what usually happens to a star in this business who gets strung out on drugs and alcohol," said Brown, who considers Blige a friend. "She makes me happy. That's one of my children. You know, a lot of them keep me in prayer on my knees."

And Blige's reign as queen of hip-hop soul seems permanent.

"She did bring the hip-hop to the R&B," Golden Girl said. "She won't be forgotten for it."

AL HUNTER

says:

do you guys think she and Whitney were doin' coke together???? she and whitney both have the same reputation for drugs and being difficult to work with....

man i love mary. i dont like how its quoted up there that she doesnt have "singer singer: voice. i mean what the hell does that mean? shes got one of the most amazing voices ever. for real.

violett said:

Yeah I'm not sure I would say Mary isn't a singer-singer. Maybe she isn't classically trained, but she has an amazing talent and does in fact have a big, powerful voice!

I would say the whispery talents of Mya or any of these lesser r&b crabs that you have on the radio aren't singer-singers.

CinisterCee said:

exactly...i mean who are they saying are "singer-singers" anyway?? like celine dion??

mochalox said:

You're my girl and all Mocha but what kinda dumb shit is that? Drugs are drugs whether you're kickin' it with Whit or Chaka Khan, its still gonna fuck up yo system till you're down and out and its also gonna fuck up the people around you(by being difficult). Lets just be glad that she cleaned her act and chose to GROW UP rather than stay as the ghetto twit that she used to be(which she was hurting nobody but herself).

And Violett, I really feel you. I mean, what do they want? Another damn Rachell Ferrell? Mary is not a fantastic vocalist and she's the 1st to admit that btw, but what sets her apart from all these chicken head silly bitches is the fact that she believes in high regard in the power of delievery, the spontaniety of depth and the emtions rather than hitting or bending the RIGHT note over and over( @ them Jazz snops) if you can get you message across with simple and raw HONESTY(which is the whole damn point, basicaly) then whats the point of IMPRESSING people with your high & low, alto or tenor singing? Thats how I see it and thats exactly why I don't find it hard to dig her shit.

I mean hey, Billie Holiday wasn't no damn Ella or even Sarah but UNLIKE both of them, she poured her heart without sweating a lick and achieved in her short run what Ella & Sarah NEVA captured in their whole lifetime(even tho they were betta than her vocally).

This apply 2 Mary(when we compare her to Mariah, Whitney and other bitches who know how to HIT & BEND the right note).

Harlepolis said:[quote]

mochalox said:

@ chicken head silly bitches!!

and to the rest harley

the thing i love about her....is where it comes from....you can feel it....she makes you feel that spot within herself. marys ma gyrl