Cover Story: Mary J. Blige - The Professional

Vibe.com, October 17th, 2003

Mary J. Blige is ready to go to work. It's 8:35 a.m. in Chicago. The sky is gray and moody. The air is damp. Outside The Ritz-Carlton, which is down the block from the luxury shopping strip aptly named The Miracle Mile, there are two hulking security guards, a road manager, two promo guys, an assistant, a videographer, and several bellmen. Waiting. Pacing. Waiting. Suddenly, as if President George W. Bush were about to materialize, everyone starts to scramble, walkie-talkies crackle. "Here she comes," says a radio-modulated voice. Bouncing out of the brass revolving door is a svelte (size 6) Mary. Ready for action, the 32 year-old singer is wearing a D&G; denim pleated miniskirt and matching jacket, a white bodysuit with holes in the sides, a denim cap, Gucci sunglasses, a Louis Vuitton purse, and caramel gladiator-boot sandals. Without missing a beat, she hops (miniskirt and all) into the black Ford Excursion. "Good morning," she says flatly to the driver. Right behind her, Kendu Isaacs, her fiancé and producer, who also works with her management team, pops into the SUV. He hands the driver A Tribe Called Quest's Hits, Rarities & Remixes disc. "It just keeps bumpin', joint after joint," he says before quickly changing the subject. "Hey, what time is it in L.A.?" he wonders aloud. "We've got to get those songs cleared for the DVD." With that, they're off to work. Another black SUV carrying the support team is following them.

Heading north toward Lake Michigan, the minicaravan rolls past a city park. "Look at that," says Kendu, pointing with his chin to a running track. "We should check it out. Let's do it tonight or tomorrow morning." Mary replies, "I think tonight would be better." The conversation goes on like this, from business to the mundane, until the talk switches to another couple, more specifically, Jen and Ben and their Dateline NBC exclusive interview. "She look nice," Mary says with a copper bobby pin in her mouth, while twisting her unraveled pigtails into one ponytail. "She's in love and doing her thing. I'm happy for her." Witnessing Mary and Kendu as they go about their routine is almost like watching a straight-up suburban couple make their morning commute to work. Take away the stodgy, suit-and-sunglasses-sporting driver and Mary's is the face of the American woman. After all, she is one of the 63 percent (8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau) of African-American women who are a part of the nation's workforce. But for now, she's not seeing subways, buses, and car pools. This is the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, and she is traveling in urban luxury. Today her job is promoting her sixth studio album, Love & Life. And she's revving up for the task. On this one-month, cross-country tour, today's itinerary looks like this: a live morning show interview on a pop radio station; another scheduled chat at a different pop station that will be taped to air the following week; lunch; more interviews. Aside from that, the schedule is fluid and could include things like an impromptu CBS TV interview or a quick meeting in the SUV with colorful promo guys-like Kevin "Always Bet On" Black and Troy "the Fire" Marshall-about a listening session scheduled for the next week in New York City for DJs, radio programmers, and press; or a spontaneous trip to Neiman Marcus and Gucci to grab some new gear. "You have to get a good night's sleep to deal with so many different personalities and people," she says. "There's gotta be a real smile that comes across, because these are die-hard fans. You gotta get on the radio and articulate yourself when you're talking nowadays. You gotta be able to be honest. You have to be able to touch people." Mary continues with the conviction of a Baptist minister. "It takes a lot out of me, because so many people come to me with stories like weird deaths and how My Life changed their life. That's a big deal to me. So it's a lot of work." Click Here to read the review of Mary J's latest release, Love & Life To cop the Love & Life CD click here! To Read The Rest Of This Story, Get This Issue At Your Local Newsstand Now! To Receive a Full Year of VIBE for $11.95, Click Here!