GoD Save The Queen

Of Hip Hop Sou

Shes had the hip

hop/soul game on
lock for 22 years but
now Mary J. Blige is
switching it up with
a brand new album,
The London Sessions.
Gloria Ogunbambo
caught up with the
legendary diva to
talk about her love
affair with the capital,
keeping her sanity
in check, and the
lessons shes learned.

ts strange to think that this year marks 22 years since the release of
Mary J Bliges debut albumWhats The 411?Under the guiding hands
of its executive producer Puff Daddy, not only was the seminal release
pioneering in its fusing together of the worlds of hip hop and soul, it also
introduced the world to Mary J Bliges distinctive and inimitable, one-of-akind voice. Raw, soulful and always brimming to the hilt with emotion, its
that same stellar voice that has catapulted Ms. Blige to the top of the charts,
to platinum albums, to sell-out tours and to nine Grammy Awards. Like
a loyal, trusty girlfriend, Marys albums have always been there to see us
through the ups and downs and the heartbreaks and triumphs. In the nicest
way possible, to me, Mary J Blige has always been the musical equivalent of
true north you always know exactly where you are with her and what shes
going to give you. On Mary J Blige: The London Sessions, the songstress
13th studio album, get set for all that to change. And to think, it all started
with a left field collaboration with hip UK house duo Disclosure.

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arys appreciation for UK talent has

never been a secret: she recruited
the vocals talents of Jessie J for
her Christmas album last year, and recently
teamed up with man-of-the-moment Sam
Smith on his smash hit Stay With Me.
However it was her feature on Disclosures F
For You that made people sit up, take notice
and reconsider her all over again. Fresh,
unexpected, and most crucially, cool and
relevant the collaboration proved that even
after all these years, Brooklyn Blige still has
a few tricks up her sleeve. Even she couldnt
have predicted what a buzz the collaboration
would create. The song just blew up over in
London. Thats when I sat down and thought,
Lets do an EP together. Me and Disclosure.
But it was actually the brilliant idea of Steve
Barnett, who is the head of Capitol to say,
No. Lets not just do Mary and Disclosure.
Lets do Mary and London. And so The
London Sessions were born.

ecorded in the heart of the capital over

the course of a month, Mary teamed
up with the crme de la crme of
British music: Emeli Sandand Naughty
Boy, Sam Smith and of course, Disclosure to
put together her innovative new album. You
know youve got a pretty powerful reputation
abroad for producing quality music when a
legend like Blige decamps all the way from
New York to work with you in your own back
garden. So just what was it about the British
scene and the prospect of recording an entire
body of work in London that was such an
attractive idea to her? The UK scene is so
exciting. Im an artist first. I need to sing.
I need to write and I need the freedom to
express myself, to inspire and be inspired.

tl t

I ove For num &

Mason, Pau Smi h,
Joseph. I even discovered
fish n ChiPS!
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Im never gonna stop. As long as Im
living this rollercoaster called life
Im going to be expressing myself
through song. The radio is incredible
here; you guys get RnB, pop, hip hop
all on the same station. Thats how it
was in NYC when I was growing up
great music was just great music. I
appreciate that freedom.

ll work and no play would

certainly make Mary a dull
lady indeed, so Im thrilled by
the fact she managed to get well and
truly acquainted with some British
pastimes in the month she spent
here. I love Fortnum & Mason, so Id
have tea there all the time. London
is amazing for fashion and food.
I mean, you have all the amazing
designers here like Paul Smith, who I
love, and Matthew Williamson. And
I mean, Ive been loving Joseph for a
long, long time! Ever since Ive been
coming here. I discovered this place
for breakfast called Dishoom that I
love and also this fish n chips place
called Sea Shell of Lisson Grove.
Just as Im ready to file the mental
image of Mary J Blige getting stuck
into some good old mushy peas and
gravy into my minds archives, the
bubble is swiftly burst. No! she
laughs throatily. I just stuck to the
cod or the sea bass with fries.

etting back to the music,

freedom is a concept that
Blige mentions several times
over the course of our interview. I
wonder if her desire to venture into
new waters, break with tradition,
and open herself up to a whole new

roster of producers and songwriters

is because she felt constrained and
shackled by the very sound she
popularised. Lets be frank; there
was a period where if you needed a
good cry and wanted to feel all the
pain, drama and heartbreak of life, a
Mary J Blige album was your album
of choice. Its worth mentioning that
while Mary is cordial, affable and
forthcoming all the way through our
interview, this particular question
brings out the straight-talking, nononsense Brooklynite in her. Oh no,
no, no, no. When I say freedom Im
just saying that in the UK you dont
just hear one song 15 times a day. My
music has never been shackling!
(So vehement is the emphasis on this
word that she manages to stretch it to
four syllables.) Not now, not ever!

hat being said, Mary has been

shackled by personal demons
at various points throughout
her 22-year career. (God, I was so
dumb!) However rather than shy
away from those struggles, Blige
instead used them as fuel for her
music, that gritty realness that has
come to define her and make us
love her all the more. Does she ever
regret being so open? No I dont
regret it. I look at it like this: since
the beginning of my career the
beginning of my life even Ive been
a vessel. We dont need to go back
there into all of that but, so many
things have happened to get me to
the place where Im not afraid to
express how Im feeling and expose
to the world that, you know what?
Everyone suffers. You do and I do.

t
il t t
l
l

My music used o
speak so heav y from
he inside of me ha
i was ru ing my ife.

tt

That doesnt mean that experience

hasnt taught her the necessity of
holding back sometimes. When I
look back I always wish I would have
had more confidence within myself.
Now I get it: I know what I can do,
I love what I do, and I understand
who Mary J Blige is. Back then I was
still trying to figure it out but my
music was speaking so heavily from
the inside of me that it was ruling
my life. I just let it all rip well
actually I still do that! [Except now]
I retain something for my sanity.
Im human. I have to walk down
the street and I have to feel good
about me. I cant have everybody
knowing everything. With todays
overexposed celebrity culture, its
refreshing to meet a celebrity (in the
true sense of the word) who doesnt
desperately chase media attention
and lives her life privately. Whats
life without that? Everything is
not for everyone. I dont care how
social media is, or if everyone needs
to know what youre doing. Youve
gotta have something for yourself.
Youve gotta save something for
yourself.

uce to say, with this

revitalised approach to making
music, Marys certainly set to
introduce a whole new generation of
fans to her music. That being said,
she makes it crystal clear to me that
the people whove been riding right
alongside her since day one, wont
feel cast aside. Im humbled that I
am still here and thankful to God for
still allowing me to be here and to do
this for my fans and for the new fans
who love what Im doing right now.
[The album is] fun and fresh you
can expect a lot of diversity. People
are going to say, Wow, oh she went
there? Oh thats hot! At the same
time you can expect to hear Mary J
Blige, the tone of her voice youll
recognise that straight away as its
all in there. Youre not going to be
shunned away because I didnt stray
too far from the formula. Right now,
Im just like here we go again, its
a new book and new chapter of my
life. Lets go! P

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On privacy:
Wha s ife
wi hou
ha ?
Every hing
is no for
everyone.

t
l
t t tt t
t

Mary J Blige: The London

Sessions will be released
on November 24th on
CapitolRecords

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