We didnt think hip-hopwould ever make it to 50 years, Mary J. Blige says definitively.
So its just a blessing and a miracle that its still around.
This fall she rereleased her Christmas album,A Mary Christmas.
Lapointe dress. Dinosaur Designs bangles and rings. Alexis Bittar bangles. Simone I. Smith Sister Love earrings. Gianvito Rossi heels. Record: Academy Records.
In every arena, Blige is flowing.
This is not an easy thing, this new me, this new Mary.
This is hard work.
Prabal Gurung bodysuit and skirt. Ariana Boussard-Reifel bracelets. Alexis Bittar earrings, ring. L’Enchanteur ring. Gianvito Rossi shoes.
Its easy to revert back to the past because thats what you knew.
Because you know the pain of the past will always take a stab at pull you back.
Theres always a Southern summeror two in the background of remarkable artists, and Mary J. Blige has several.
Like most postwar housing developments, Schlobohm initially served white working-class communities.
It was not a great neighborhood, Blige recalls.
It was actually an awful neighborhood for children, especially in the summer, especially for little girls.
Dundas coat and knit leotard. Simone I. Smith Sister Love earrings. Alexis Bittar bracelets. Giuseppe Zanotti boots.
We were like, We dont wanna go down South anymore.
We were tired of it, she says, giggling.
But it was fun though, she continues.
Burberry coat. Dinosaur Designs earrings. L’enchanteur ring.
Our Southern upbringing gave us a lot of the manners that we haveplease and thank you and maam.
Because everybody up here was like Hunh?
and things like that to their mom.
The Southern rearing endured beyond etiquette, as the sisters found their first set of collaborators.
They were church girls, and they became our play cousins, Blige says.
And so we started going to church with them and we made our own church thing.
We went tosing, we went to eat candy, and we were just going to laugh.
But we were really going to sing.
Dont make me sing it right now, she implores.
Yall need to drop this!
I nearly yell back.
Yall got to get back together.
Diotima top and skirt. Private Policy coat. Simone I. Smith Sister Love earrings. Brandon Blackwood boots.
The young people need to hear God bubbling in their soul today!
She laughs, covering her face, but I am dead-ass serious.
The South was a respite, but there were also difficult memories of her time coming of age.
Blige has discussed her experience of childhood sexual abuse and the trauma that remains.
I ask Blige about her grandparents again, about their prayers for her during that time.
Their prayers is what we are living in.
Lapointe dress. Simone I. Smith Sister Love earrings. Dinosaur Designs bangles and rings. Alexis Bittar bangles.
Blige was 19 when their prayers began to unfold.
Because I zone everything out to sing.
So thats been in my soul and in my life all the way until now.
The 90s were the next chapter after all the incredible things the 80s gave us, he says.
So we couldnt play with our albums.
I think we both knew what we had to do.
We knew what the new sound of the city should be like.
Because Bliges work carved a new space within and between genres, it wasnt easily categorized.
It is essential, he contends, to underscore the ubiquity of her influence.
Her voice was heard on every block, in every household, every party, he says.
You could hear her music coming out of all the cars with the loudest custom speakers.
Everyone wanted to give a shot to find out how to do songs with her.
It was a big wish list.
She even collaborated with some artists real early and helped careers like The Notorious B.I.G.
There is no one like her anywhere.
Lyrically, her songs connected with the streets and everyday people.
Bliges look also connected her with the streets and everyday folks.
We didnt know what we were doing, Blige says of the early days of hip-hop street style.
We were just living our lives, doing what we did before we even got into the music business.
We took hockey jerseys and put tennis skirts with them and Teflon boots.
Who knew that everyone and their mother was going to wear their hats turned backward?
Thats how we came out of the hood.
And thats what weve always done.
We did what we wanted to do, and then everybody started following us.
Im scared to death of myself.
TheMy Lifealbum remains the starkest reminder of the distinction between past and present.
She was single and hurting and everything, but she never let herself go, Blige says.
I never saw my mother looking bad.
We never saw that.
We always saw her keep herself beautiful.
Blige learned from her foremothers, but she tweaked their lessons.
It was once broadly taboo for mothersand especially Black mothersto allow their children to see them as vulnerable.
She birthed a tradition of holding nothing back.
Bliges strength is in everything shedoesshow and tell of all sides of human feeling.
(Why did I hate?)
/ So intensely / Lord, help me.
Well, that phenomenal woman thing just started happening, she quickly replies, with a well-earned laugh.
When I was younger, I was not this person.
When I was first in the music business, I was not this woman who thinks shes phenomenal.
I learned to collect myself, the good, the bad, the ugly.
And if I cant look at it, I cant fix it.
On 2022s albumGood Morning Gorgeous,Blige arrives at a new gateway of her new self.
Standing at the crossroads looking backward and forward, Blige and fellow Grammy-winning R&B singer H.E.R.
are in rare gospel call-and-response form on the albums titular remix.
Im so in awe of her as a person and as a woman, H.E.R.
With how honest she was being in the studio.
I was just like, Wow, I want to be that way.
I want to be that vulnerable in these records, and you know just give it everything.
Because thats what she does.
You know, just have a go at do the right thing at the end of the day.
I wonder about this aloud to her.
People want what makes sense to them.
And thats fine, she says.
I cant do nothing about it.
And the ones that wanna grow and go with you, you appreciate that.
And then there are some people who just want a reason to just let go.
Or just not like you anymore.
And thats fine too.
Henson goes further: A woman with joy?
Especially a black woman with joy?
Shes giving life, baby, she says.
Thats everything that they dont want.
Her joy and Black womens strength and joy is absolutely a threat.
Because out of that spawns life.
Her voice, throwback and modern, bound R&B and hip-hop together.
Today Bliges freshness, innovation, and expanding relevance almost belie her status as an entertainment OG.
Her longevity is in her artistic approach, and her deftness as a storyteller.
Because change is painful.
But being stuck and stagnant is painful as well.
Here in her life in the sunshine, Blige tends affectionately to what she calls her inner Marys.
I tell little Mary, you might go outside and play now.
you might actually play, and no ones going to hurt you ever again.
I can promise you that.
To her older Mary, she says, Stop that, with a smirk.
And we cant judge the future with the past.
Joy and peace for the world.
No more diseases and plagues.
Everybodys healthy and happy.
For people to have jobs and opportunities.
And for kids to be safe.
And after she blesses everybody else, she speaks life over herself.
And for me to continue to be well and healthy and strong, you know?
Here is her wish: Just grow with me.
Read all theGlamour2023 Woman of the Year profiles here:
Millie Bobby BrownGeena RoceroAmerica FerreraQuinta BunsonBrooke ShieldsDaring to DisruptSelma Blair
