Mary J Blige was dubbed the queen of hip-hop soul by Sean Puffy Combs back in the 90s, yet she is often the Queen of the dance floor thanks to some incredible remixes over the years. In 2002, her CD ‘Dance For Me’ compiled several of her biggest songs remixed by the biggest names – Thunderpuss (No More Drama), Hex Hector & Mac Quayle (He Think I Don’t Know) and Junior Vasquez (Your Child). With five number one hits on the Billboard Club Chart, she continues to show dedication and a lot of love to clubland.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: I want to tell you, "I Am" is one of the biggest songs in the
clubs right now.
Mary J Blige: Really?
RS: Oh yes, it’s flying up the dance club charts. The Moto
Blanco mix is incredible. What involvement do you have with the dance
remixes?
Mary J Blige: Well I approve them after they're done. I say OK, I
love this one or I don't love this one. I grew up in a lot of 80s
clubs, so I know what to listen for. That's my involvement, I have
the ear.
RS: You're an icon to us. You were one of the first R&B artists
to allow a remix album to come out, it was a few years ago on MCA.
Mary J Blige: I loved that CD and obviously people loved it because
it did really well. I think it went double platinum or something. It
was just a remix record.
RS: Do you ever do dates in clubs where you sing your club mixes?
Mary J Blige: You know what? I have never done the club mixes, but
I'm going to start doing club mixes because I'm starting to notice
that everybody wants the club mix.
RS: How did you find Starshell?
Mary J Blige: Well, in Vegas she was in the studio wandering around
with a whole other set of people and her light was so bright and her
energy was so great. It’s easy to pick a bright light out and say
'what are you doing here in all this darkness?' We put her under our
wings and found out she was a genius and here it is right now.
RS: Is this your first time coming to Miami for the Winter Music
Conference?
Mary J Blige: I think this is my first Music Conference since I came
as a new artist.
RS: What's your take on it?
Mary J Blige: It’s friendly, the energy’s really nice. That’s
because I want it to be but it’s cool.
RS: How is working in a dance role than working in your normal
role, the hip-hop R&B role?
Mary J Blige: It's a completely different world because I think
people are freer in the dance world, like you can really enjoy your
life in the dance world. In the hip-hop world there are restrictions,
there's this, you can't do that, if you do this you're going to sell
out, blah, blah, blah. In the dance world you can have wings and go.
RS: Another big record of yours, "Be Without You," it was big as
an R & B song and the club record is still massive today. When you
made that record did you have any idea it would be as big as it would
be?
Mary J Blige: You know, when I first finished the record I knew there
was something special about it, I was like 'wow, there's something
with this record.' I couldn't predict what it was going to be but I
know it just completed me when I heard it. There was no wavering, it
was like bang, this is it.
RS: I often see you performing on TV doing massive shows. Do you
ever get nervous going up on stage on that international level like
that?
Mary J Blige: You know, I get nervous when I'm about to take on
something new. Like for instance, when we did the song with Andrea
Bocelli at the Grammys, I was a little nervous because I've never sung
to that big of an audience with an opera singer. I did it on Oprah
and had a taste of it. So I was nervous, but once I got out there, he
showed me his eyes and he never shows anyone his eyes. Then, all my
nervousness went away.
RS: Another thing I love about you is not afraid to take risks.
I remember back in 2002 when you sang "Love is a Battlefield" with
Sharkira at Divas Las Vegas on VH1. Was that a challenging song for
you to sing?
Mary J Blige: "Love is a Battlefield" is not a challenging song
because it’s the most sang song for all the young girls that grew up
in the 80s. We sung that song to death, so it wasn't a challenge.
RS: What would you like to say to all your dance fans out there?
Mary J Blige: I want to say to all my dance fans thank you so much
for your support, thank you very much. Keep your wings, keep flying,
keep being free and now I'm going to be free with you.
Interview conducted March 2010.
