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On the eve of flying to South Africa to begin promoting her December follow-up album, "Growing Pains," an ever-frank Blige shared her perspective on life after "The Breakthrough."
Q: Was it more or less intimidating going back into the studio after the success of "The Breakthrough?"
Blige: "We were coming out of a valley, so to speak, with 'The Breakthrough.' Everyone had run away and turned their backs on us. And that was cool. We love them still, and we forgive them. But it's been easier doing 'Growing Pains' because now you don't have anything to try to conquer. It's like you've accomplished everything you set out to do. You've done the hard work to be where you are. Now, though, you've got to work harder to deliver based on that confidence. Not that I was lax on anything or taking anything for granted because "The Breakthrough" did so well. I worked just as hard, maybe even harder, on this album."
Q: Among your collaborators on this new project is Ne-Yo.
Blige: "Ne-Yo is an incredible kid. He nailed everything. I began writing for this album in February around the time of the Grammys and the (Academy Award) parties. I started out with this concept of growing pains because that's how I was feeling during the Grammys: 'Am I good enough for this; do I really deserve all this in my life?' But something in my head said, 'Yes, you are. Now you're forced to rapidly grow up in this area in order to achieve and get the things you want.' All this was in my poem and everything else I'd been writing.
"I read everything to Ne-Yo. He came back with not only some of the words that were in my poem but with songs that matched up to where I'm going and where I'm at in my life. He's such a sweet man, a gentleman who respects women. When I got a chance to sit down with him and talk ... you know, men don't usually relate to or understand women on that level. He just totally understood."
Q: You're on TV now with a car commercial and have done some occasional acting in the past. Now that you've conquered the music world, is acting the next frontier?
Blige: "It's my goal to do more acting if it works for me. I'm not trying to get into the film business just because I'm Mary J. Blige. I don't want to make a fool of myself with everybody laughing and talking about me like a dog. I want to get it right (laughs). A lot of scripts have come my way. It's just about choosing the right one.
"I actually went to read for a film role and could have gotten the part. It was for a director who, being new himself, didn't want to take a chance on a new person. So he wanted to go with a more seasoned actress. But the feedback I got behind the scenes was that I was great at my reading. So the word is out that I can do this."
Q: Was it a dramatic role?
Blige: "Yes. I would have played the part of woman named Linda, whose husband was a crooked cop who got killed. In the role, I was mourning for my husband. So I had to go to dark places in my own life to do that. I remembered mourning over my cousin when he got killed; I remembered an abusive relationship. I had to rewind my life to play that role. The songs that made me go there were Roy Ayers' 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' and 'Searching.' Those were the songs I was playing heavily when those events were happening in my life. I really didn't like to go there, but I had to (for the reading). I kept crying over and over when I was in the car afterward."
Q: Getting back to music, who is at the top of your wish list to still work with?
Blige: "When and if I do a jazz album, I'd want to work with Anita Baker. I love her. She's got to know I'm a huge fan. There's also the possibility that I'd do a gospel album. Everyone always asks that question, and I believe I would."
Q: Growing up, were gospel and jazz major musical influences?
Blige: "Not really. It was more whatever was playing in my house. When I was a little girl, about 4 years old, I remember hearing 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine.' That's the reason why I know who Roy Ayers is. My father was a musician, a bass player, and he had a band. ... From his end, it was all about everything from Parliament to the Grateful Dead. My mother was the soul chick. She had everything from Candi Staton and Gladys Knight to Dorothy Moore, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack and Otis Redding. She'd be around the house singing all these songs."
Q: If you could use only one phrase or one word to describe the evolution of Mary J. Blige the artist, what would that be?
Blige: "Then: Starting to wake up. Now: Aware." (laughs)
Q: Now that you're aware, what would you do differently if you were just starting out?
Blige: "I would probably behave. (laughs) I can't change what I was because I didn't know any better. But if I'd have known then what I do now, I wouldn't have done any of that stupid stuff."
Q: Wouldn't that have affected your music, given that it's derived from your life experiences?
Blige: "That's true. But you know, showing up 10 hours late for an interview or not showing up at all? That doesn't have anything to do with anything. That's just stupidity. I wish I'd done that differently instead of (in a mimicking voice), 'I'm not going. I'm hung over. I'm staying home.' (laughs) Meanwhile, you've got interviewers and all these people at photo shoots waiting for you who don't care about any of that. They're just there to do their jobs and you don't show up. And now you're difficult."
Q: Early on, you were tagged "the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul." Do you ever tire of that moniker?
Blige: "There's nothing I can do about it because it's something I've earned. I would never disrespect it. Hip-hop is not something that you ultimately hear. It's a culture we grew up in, and it became us. This is the way we think, walk and talk. There's a lot of intelligence in hip-hop.
"A person doesn't have to slump all over, curse or act stupid to do hip-hop. Look at Erykah Badu, D'Angelo or Jill Scott. They live in that culture and you can hear it in their music. It's what others labeled neo-soul, but which is an extension of hip-hop/soul. Jill Scott carries herself pretty nice. You can hear in her music those hip-hop influences. It's where she comes from in her heart. A Tribe Called Quest gave us jazz influences. And the Jungle Brothers was another rap group I loved. If you knew who they were, then you were really a hip-hopper. They made you feel good about the culture."
Q: What are your thoughts on the ongoing controversy about rap lyrics?
Blige: "Honestly, it's not just a song's fault or a lyric's fault. Parental guidance is very key with everything that's going on. You can have your child listen to all that, but it's up to you to say, 'Look, that's what they do, but this is what you're going to do. You can't knock or judge them for what they do. But as your parent, this is what I would like for you to do, and it's the right thing to do.' It's society as a whole that's the problem. It's not about a song doing the killing or making women promiscuous."
Q: So are children in your future?
Blige: "I have two young stepchildren, who are 8 and 9. They are my children, and I have to nurture them. I don't have room or time right now for a baby. At the end of the day ... I don't know. If it happens, it happens. But right now it's not something on my radar."
Q: Do you want to be singing at age 50 or 60?
Blige: "I don't know. That's up to the people. If they request it, I'll be there. But I'm not going to force myself into their lives."
