CONTENT NOTE for a brief and almost accidental dipping of my toes into contentious political argumentation, in a context that only barely supports it. Most of this is just a paean to someone who might as well be one of the top five people in the world whom I don’t know personally.
Mary J. Blige is one of those artists whom the whole world would be lesser without. I can’t believe I missed her birthday four days ago. I don’t have any favourite Mary songs besides her Dr. Dre-produced 2001 single “Family Affair” (which I adore and listen to about once a week), because I don’t know her discography nearly as well as I should, especially speaking as someone who would think absolutely nothing of laying down my life for her. I love her so very much, with my whole heart, and always have – roughly as much as I love Queen Latifah, and those of you who have heard me talk about Queen Latifah know that I would give my life for Ms. Owens too.
Mary J. has one of the most beautiful and most authentically human-sounding voices in the entire history of rhythm and blues, and I have no patience for anyone who doesn’t love her, and would certainly question their taste. The genuineness of her self-presentation as someone who has worked very hard to overcome significant trauma and major obstacles in order to thrive and be well has always moved me. She’s an absolute fucking treasure, and when she was nominated for an Oscar for acting a few years ago I flipped my lid, because I care way the hell too much about the Oscars and it brought me total ecstasy to see her nominated for a major acting award next to giants like Leslie Manville (for her astounding performance in Phantom Thread) and Laurie Metcalf (equally awe-inspiring in Lady Bird.) I wish upon her every good thing of this world and every good thing of the world to come, including continued artistic success, financial safety, and ecstatic personal emotional and spiritual happiness. She deserves all the joy in the world. What a magical creature, what a magnificent human being.
How can you not love Mary J. Blige? Honestly. C’mon. I would take her over Beyoncé, Lizzo, Erykah Badu (who has always struck me as just a little bit of a snake oil salesperson), and Lauryn Hill combined, and ever since I found out that Amerie (formerly my very favourite R&B singer of any gender) hates Western civilization and Israel, endorses the October 7th Islamic supremacist terrorist attacks, and believes constitutional liberal democracy is functionally evil, I would take Mary over Amerie too. She’s one of perhaps a total of 100 celebrities for whom I regularly feel comfortable praying, and for whose lives, gifts, and art I am grateful to God in the highest. Very few more thoroughly and entirely wonderful people exist on earth.