February 13, 2007 @ 4:12 pm

Mary J. Blige is as VIBE as VIBE itself

Keith Murphy

Mary J. Blige covers VIBE's 150th issue.

"You ready for this?!" warns an animated Mary J. Blige. The indestructible R&B diva is holding in her petite hands a copy of her first VIBE cover story, from February 1995, and having a flashback to one of the darkest periods of her well-publicized, often turbulent career. "That day I had been up for about three days just getting high," a remarkably candid Mary confesses about the New York photo shoot that produced the now iconic headshot of her - in red hat, red hoodie, and red lipstick - looking out from the page somberly with those signature Bambi eyes. "I was just thinking, I hope no one knows." It was two years after the acclaim of her hip-hop/R&B landmark debut, What's the 411? (Uptown/MCA Records, 1992), and the publicity machine was presenting a young Mary as a changed woman. The soaring track "Be Happy," which anchored her definitive statement album, 1994's My Life, said as much: "How can I love somebody else / When I can't love myself enough to know / When it's time to let go?" Even the magazine cover line read Mary J. Blige… Back From the Brink. Who was she fooling? Many did know, though, about the mythology of Mary: the battles with alcohol and drugs, the abusive relationships, the rampant unprofessionalism, the canceled concerts, the "fuck you" attitude she took towards journalists and even some fans. Hell, the consensus among those in the know was that the Yonkers, N.Y., project chick with the big voice might not make it to see 30. Which is why today a 35-year-old Mary is genuinely taken aback by the news that she's been chosen to grace the cover of VIBE's commemorative 150th issue. We love the Queen of Hip Hop Soul because she never turned her back on hip hop, going back to the days when she rocked a baseball cap and jersey in her first video, "Real Love." "I can sit down and cross my legs and you can still see that I'm hip hop," she says. But the same Mary J. Blige who has traded verses with a string of hip hop stars over the years - including the Notorious B.I.G., Method Man, Jay-Z, the Game, and Ludacris - can also be placed in the iconic company of her soul and R&B heroes Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Anita Baker. And yet Mary will be the first to tell you that she is not blessed with the perfect voice. Most of the time, she sings as if she is teetering dangerously close to the edge, just one note away from falling to pieces. But we love her flaws. It's pure emotion, unfiltered. It's Mary. For the full look back on Mary's first-ever VIBE cover and iconic career curve since, cop the latest issue, on stands now. It's our 150th anniversary!

Article tags: Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Method Man, Jay-Z, The Game, Ludacris, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker. 

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/cover_stories/2007/02/cover_story_march_2007_blige/

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