Mary J. Blige, celebrated as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, has transformed the turmoil of her past into a beacon of empowerment and solidarity, especially for women.
via: Page Six
For Mary J. Blige, it was the pain in her pocketbook from her divorce drama — with ex-husband and former manager Kendu Isaacs — that inspired her 2017 LP “Strength of a Woman.”
“When I made that album, I was pissed off because I was paying alimony every day,” Blige, 53, told The Post. “I was in the middle of a terrible divorce.
“But, you know, I always speak things into existence — even when I’m going through a bad time — and I had to speak strength into myself. And so I named my album ‘Strength of a Woman’ while going through a daggone divorce and paying alimony.”
And the “Family Affair” singer further turned any lingering hateration into empowerment with her Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit, which takes over New York City this Mother’s Day weekend — with the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul newly crowned as a 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
“It’s extremely important for me to bring it home because this is where I was born and raised,” said the Yonkers, NY native. “This is where the movement started, you know? I grew up around a bunch of women, and they were all single, and they were very strong. And, you know, there were trials and triumphs. I’ve seen a lot here growing up.”
And SOAW has already shown growth heading into its third annual edition — after two previous years in Atlanta.
“I knew it was gonna be what we set out for it to be [in 2022],” said Blige. “And then we had the second year, and it kept getting bigger and bigger. And it’s grown because people from all over the world are coming to this thing.”
Now, Blige — who will headline Saturday’s concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center also featuring 50 Cent, Jill Scott and more — believes that the Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit has found its home in New York.
“I believe New York needs something like this — especially from artists like myself who come from here and know what New York needs,” she said. “We need some kind of a hug sometimes. And this is a hug for our culture.”
Blige drew some inspiration from the Essence Festival, which has been a New Orleans mecca of black female fellowship for years.
“I’ve done the Essence Festival so many times, I can’t even count,” she said. “I appreciate them for just being, you know, and calling on us at times when we didn’t know if people even liked us anymore.”
While there will be everything from a two-set showcase with Grammy-winning pianist Robert Glasper (at the Blue Note jazz club on Friday night) to a concert by gospel greats the Clark Sisters (at the Brooklyn Paramount on Sunday), Blige feels that Saturday’s Summit at the Glasshouse in Midtown is “the heartbeat” of SOAW. “This is the most important part for me,” she said.
The lineup for the free event — although advance registration is closed — includes Taraji P. Henson, her “Empire” co-star Tasha Smith, “Black-ish” actress Marsai Martin and, of course, Blige herself.
“We all get together and we help each other, we teach you — you know, ‘each one teach one.’ We empower, we inquire, we educate, we elevate each other with what we’ve learned,” she said. “And this year we have men on [a] panel as well, men that celebrate women.”
Although Blige herself is not a mom — “I love my freedom,” she said of her decision not to have kids — she feels that the Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit (co-produced in partnership with Pepsi) is a perfect fit for Mother’s Day weekend.
“I mean, what other weekend would you do this if you were Mary J. Blige and your movement was predominantly all women?” she said. “You would celebrate the strength of a woman on Mother’s Day — because every mother is a strong woman.”
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