Mary J. Blige: 'love & life': puts 'the drama' behind her and returns with upbeat cd

Jet, Sept 1, 2003 by Clarence Waldron

The last time JET caught up with Mary J. Blige, she was putting "the drama" behind her and singing about it in her hit tune No More Drama.

Today, the superstar singer has indeed put all the drama, all the pain, all the low self-esteem behind her and has moved on to an even happier and stronger place.

Mary J. Blige is in love. Yes, she's in love not only with her man, she's also in love with herself.

And the Queen of Hip Hop Soul celebrates that love on her upbeat CD Love & Life.

"Mary J. Blige is loving the fact that she has accepted who she is," she tells JET during a promotional stop in Chicago at Paje restaurant.

"She has accepted who she is. Someone who is loving, someone who has accepted who she is as a human being. And it makes it easier for me to love everybody else. I can give love and get it back in such a beautiful way, because I am able to accept myself. I'm in a good place."

She notes that Love & Life "is more upbeat. It's a celebration of coming full circle. It's who I am and who Mary J. Blige has been."

Recalling her 2001 triple-platinum CD, No More Drama, she notes, "Going through all the stuff I went through wasn't in vain because I found out that my job is to give. No More Drama wasn't just an album, it was a transition in my life. I was tired of suffering, tired of the hustle and hassle of everyday life. I figured out that all along, the problem had been pride and ignorance. Right now I'm growing, I'm learning, and I'm listening. I realized that I need to hear the truth and the truth is setting me free. And what you hear on Love & Life is the truth and my willingness to embrace it."

She points out, "After you say something like 'no more drama,' you can't do anything but close the door. You continue to work on not having drama and the way you work on that is you fall in love with yourself. I don't mean vainly. I mean get yourself a foundation. And we all know that my foundation is God. I have no shame about that. I am wide open and loud about that. That's the reason I am living now and understanding that I have learned how to love myself in a way that I have never loved myself before. I accept me for everything that I am."

She discusses the spiritual walk that has enabled her to put the drama behind her. "God has done so much for me," she emphasizes.

"I do whatever I possibly can do for Him. If He wants me to go and speak to people, I go. I'm not a preacher and I am not trying to preach to people, but just being an example of a recovering drug addict, a recovering alcoholic and a person who was just everywhere all the time and who has turned into this woman who has respect for herself and for her life and has control of her life. I am an example of what God can do. My spiritual walk is everything to me, because I am a spirit."

Love & Life reunites with her superstar producer Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, who crowned her the Queen of Hip Hop Soul on her 1992 debut CD What's The 411? The team of Blige and Combs helped usher in a stylish "ghetto fabulous" sound of R&B that united gospel and blues-influenced vocals with high-tech funk and rap. Their 1994 follow up CD My Life set a standard for soul that remains unmatched.

The two split for reported "creative differences." But fans agree the musical magic is still there.

Combs approached her about helping to produce the CD. "The reason why he wanted to do it was that we did the No More Drama remix together and he was so happy with the outcome of it. We listened and we realized, 'Gosh, we still have what we had.' I don't think we ever lost it, so he asked me right there if we could do the album together."

She notes, "I am ecstatic. I am really, really happy. Not just about the album, but I think I've learned more about being a businesswoman from this businessman. This Brother knows about this music business. I've learned a lot from him. It was a blessing working with him."

Among those on Love & Life are rappers 50 Cent, Eve, Jay-Z and Method Man. She teams up with Method Man on the CD's first single, Love @ 1st Sight, a tune inspired by her real-life romance with her fiance, Kendu Isaacs.

Other must-listen-to tunes include the club ready Ooh!, and the tender love ballads Special Part Of Me and Ultimate Relationship.

She also doesn't forget her trademark "straight-up" messages to players, cheaters and fools on her Not Today, featuring rap Eve. She says she'll never forget the painful drama in her life.

She notes, "I am happy right now, but there are a lot of Sisters who were miserable with me during the My Life album, and we've grown together and we've grown up together, so I had to add a couple of songs on here for them that they look for, like Not Today, which is when you are with someone who is not reliable--he's a liar. That's an anthem. Eve is telling the guy off and I am telling the guy off," she says. The tune was produced by Dr. Dre who produced her No. 1 single Family Affair.

The first 500,000 CDs, which hit stores this week on Aug. 26, also feature a documentary DVD on the making of Love & Life. "The DVD goes behind the scenes with Puffy and me in the studio. This thing is a gift to people because you get to see me in every predicament that you ever wanted to see me in. It's not glamorous. You get me working, no makeup," she laughs.