Mary J. Blige: Superstar Singer Discusses

Jet, Oct 1, 2001 by Clarence Waldron

* New Man In Her Life

* Her Close Relationship With God

* What Inspired New CD, `No More Drama'

You can always count on Mary J. Blige to tell it like it is in her music.

And when she sings the title track of her new CD No More Drama, you know she means every word she sings.

There is indeed no more drama in her life, and she says she is happier than ever with a new man and a close relationship with God.

And she reveals that all of this joy and peace inspired her to record the No More Drama CD, which is already racing up the charts with the party hit Family Affair, produced by Dr. Dre.

The sensitive soul singer smiles as she talks about the man in her life. "He's not in the music business. He's not a performer; he's not a rapper; he's not a singer--he's none of that. And that is a good thing," she laughs. "That's an excellent thing, thank God," she laughs again.

While she won't give his name, she reveals that he is from Brooklyn, NY, and "is a reflection of me. He reads the Word with me and to me," she says. "I met him when I was on tour working with someone. They came in town. I met him like that." They have been dating for about nine months.

Revealing that she has had painful relationships in the past, she is optimistic that this romance will continue to flourish. "I'm feeling like there is hope. But the bottom line of what I learned, and a lot of women need to really listen to this, `You've got to become what you want.' Because if you are sad and you don't love yourself, and you want to kill yourself, you are going to draw a man to you who is going to be sad and he probably wants to kill himself too. So you've got to become what you really want in your life. You've got to become it. That's how I feel."

Mary, who grew up singing gospel in church, says she is so pleased that her man understands and shares her close relationship to God. They pray together, they read the Bible and share in the wonders of the Lord, she notes.

"First of all, no man who I ever dealt with seems to be happy because I am seeking God. Even when I tried to mention God it was like, `What is this?' But that's what we live for, we live for Christ. So that's why I feel he is a reflection of my spirit. We both want to know more about the Word. He's really supportive. He's more supportive of me than I am of myself. He is understanding. He's not a man who goes into a temper tantrum when he is having a bad day. He's easy with me, but he's firm with me too."

She is excited about her spiritual development and her growing relationship with God. "I am happy for once. I've never been this happy. I'm totally seeking God. I am in the Word heavy. I can't believe how heavy that I am in the Word. I'm trying to build my foundation on the wisdom, the Word, so that I will be able to pass on the right information to the universe. Because you get exactly what you put out there. I'm just happy with that."

She stresses, "It (the Bible) says, `Seek first the kingdom of God and all of the things, the desires of your heart, will be added unto you.' And all that is true. It is so true. You get to find out how good He is because you are wanting to know Him."

That love of self, of family, of a mate, of friends, and most of all, love of God, is soulfully evident on Mary's fifth studio CD, No More Drama. The album includes songs and production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Chucky Thompson, Swizz Beats, Rockwilder, the Neptunes, Ron Lawrence, Kenny Flav and Dame Grease. Special guests include Eve, Missy Elliott, Lenny Kravitz and Hakeem.

"This album is a continuation of a turnaround," Mary explains. "The Mary album was a cleanup. It was about cleaning up around me because I still had debris left around me. And this album? It's about solidifying and moving even further with the things I've learned and the strides I've made."

A show stopping tune is the title track No More Drama, which opens with the instrumental theme from the daytime soap, "The Young and the Restless" and includes such heartfelt lyrics as "no more pain, no more drama in my life."

She points out, "Jimmy and Terry wrote it without me, and when I heard it I was like, `Do you have a private detective following me around? Because this song is so where I'm at.' This song is demanding that you stay away from my life if you're going to bring me drama."

She adds, "Basically in No More Drama I'm saying `Aren't you sick and tired of being sick and tired?' Enough is enough. That's really it. The bottom line is people will always fail you, so that's why I say, `I got to count on me because I can guarantee that I'll be fine.'"

She asks her fans, "Aren't you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Sick and tired of beating yourself up, sick and tired of things around you that are just not cool, sick and tired of your environment, sick and tired of not having a peace of mind and sick and tired of having to feel the pressure of living for everybody else? You start to feel kind of trapped, that you are living for the world. In No More Drama I am saying enough is enough of this nonsense. Enough of this self-abuse, people abuse, fake friends, the whole nine. Beat it!" she declares.