Queen
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December 30, 2009
oiHip-Hop Soul
Mary J. Blige
stays in tune with
younger audiences
(A P) - M ary J. Blige, the “queen o f hip-
hop soul,” says sh e ’s kept her lofty title
because she stays in tune w ith w hat younger
audiences w ant to hear.
“I alw ays get inspired back from the
Rihannas and the B eyonces,” the 38-year-
old says. “Y ou ju st have to be open enough
to learn from another generation... T hat’s
being a sm art person and th a t’s w hy I ’m able
to be ju st right there not doing w hat they
do, but w hat I do.”
B lige’s latest C'D, “Stronger w ith Each
T ear," has a fresh sound that m aintains her
R& B groove. It is her ninth studio release.
In recent interview , Blige - who has won
nine Gram m y A w ards since her debut in 1992
- talked about R&B m usic, recording a jazz
album and being a crybaby.
The A ssociated Press: W ould you say
that y o u ’re a sensitive person?
Blige. I w ould say that I’m a very sensitive
person.
AP: A re you crying about the sam e things
that you cried about earlier in your career?
Blige: I think 1 cry about different things
now. I cry because I w ant to be better than
this. I w ant to continue to grow so, you know.
I have to give m yself a break. I ’m my w orst
critic. I’m the hardest person on me. T ve been
like that forever, but I’ve learned to give
m y self a break so even now w hen I s lip ... I
d o n ’t w ant to hurt anyone. A nd I cry w hen
I hurt people unintentionally.
AP: How do you react w hen one o f your
songs is played on the radio?
B lige: If I hear one o f m y o id so n g s like
“ N ot G o n ’ C ry o r “ M y L ife” - the “ My
L ife” album ju s t alw ays m akes m e stop and
ju s t cry, like baw l. So call m e a cry b ab y ,
w h atev er, I ’m a w om an, too, so so m etim es
it’s ju s t that tim e.
AP: Is it hard to perform those em otional
songs w hen, at this point, y o u ’re in a differ­
ent place?
Blige: For me perform ing “N ot G o n 'C ry ”
and “ I’m G oin D ow n” and “ M y Life” — it’s
1 ike therapy again. 1 ju st love the way it makes
m e feel at the m om ent and get it out o f my
system , you know. T hose are hurtful places
and som etim es you got to revisit for the sake
o f other people.
AP: H ow w ould you com pare today’s
R&B music with the ‘90s m usic?
Blige: Can I say ‘80s too? There is no
com parison because the m usic in the ‘90s
and the ‘80s was like, music. You had
Jim m y Jam and Terry Lew is w ho were
on the radio. M ichael Jackson and
Q uincy Jones everyw here, all over the
place. A nita Baker, ju st so m any am az­
ing p e o p le ... I’m not saying the music
isn ’t beautiful now. It’s ju st such a ...
it’s limited.
AP: How do you think your fashion
style has evolved?
Blige: I m ean I’ve had som e disas­
ters, som e trials, som e errors, som e d i­
sastrous hair m om ents and clothing
Mary J.
Blige
m om ents, but th at’s due to the insecurity in
m e and not know ing w hat w orks for me and
trying to do w hat w orks for everybody else.
But once you fall into w hat w orks for you,
w hich is w hat 1 did, you ca n ’t go wrong
unless you ju st w ant to go wrong.
AP: W hat advice do you have for insecure
w om en who dress in a w ay they probably
sho u ld n ’t dress?
B lige: 1 g uess the insecure y o u n g er
w om an, ju st do w hat w orks for you because
everything doesn’t work for everyone. You
know exactly w hat w orks for you. You can
w ear som ething tight and y o u ’re to be bub­
bling all over the place. So I mean, use your
com m on sense and be confident in that.
A P" Y ou’ve collaborated with everyone
from Sting to U2 to Aretha Franklin. Is there
anyone else y o u ’d like to work with?
Blige: I haven’t has a chance to collabo­
rate with A nita Baker yet. So when 1 do my
jazz album , Anita, I’m com ing for you.
AP: W hen are you planning to release the
jazzC D ?
Blige: I have no idea when I’m going to do
the ja zz album , but it ca n ’t be long. It w o n ’t
be long.
Platinum Fade
S A L O Ì
Songwriter Performs Sundays
Steve Ulrich, a songw riter o f in­
ternational reputation who now lives
in northeast Portland, has inaugu­
rated a series o f Sunday Brunch
p erfo rm an ces at D addy M o jo ’s
Café. 1501 N.E. Frcem ontSt.
From 10a.m. to I p .m .,each S u n ­
day, Ulrich, with friends, perform s a
variety o f styles, including blues,
country, rock-a-biIly, R&B. folk and
gospel.
U lrich is a singer with a great
range and soulfulness accented by
fine guitar and harm onica work. I le
has four CD s out on the indepen­
dent label Subatom ic Particles for
Peace. For m ore inform ation, visit
stcveurlnch.com .
Steve Ulrich performs
Sundays, from 10 a.m.
to lp .m ., at Daddy
Mojo’s Café, 1501 N.E.
Freemont St.
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