In honor of Women’s History Month, SOHH spotlights Black women in hip-hop who have taken entrepreneurship by storm. These influential women such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott have built unique, impactful brands. Here are four beloved female artists who have been making a noteworthy splash outside of music: Rihanna After trademarking […]
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For Women’s History Month, SOHH is highlighting five female artists that should make a comeback to music after taking hiatuses. Those female artists include Amerie, Shontelle, Tweet, Shawnna, and Lumidee. SOHH, here are the five female musicians that should return to hip-hop/R&B: Amerie This R&B singer came onto the scene by singing the chorus for […]
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If you want an honest opinion on just about anything, ask Chaka Khan. The singer is one of the most celebrated voices in Soul, Funk, and R&B. She is hailed as one of the greatest voices of her generation and beyond, and Khan is respected among her peers. She holds nearly every coveted music award in her lane, and dozens of successful artists and musicians credit her as an inspiration. However, in recent years, it isn’t just Chaka Khan’s music that has earned attention.
She’s a powerhouse in the studio and her interviews. While many artists often take the politically correct route, the acclaimed singer usually dishes out opinions that give the public pause. This happened again when Khan visited Los Angeles Magazine‘s The Originals Podcast, where she was asked about her fellow singers. She discussed Mary J. Blige’s cover of her hit “Sweetest Thing,” and it was clear Chaka wasn’t a fan.
“I told Mary J. Blige she f*cked it up,” Chaka Khan said. “Number one, her vocals were flat. And I asked her, I said, ‘What time of day was it or night, what were you doing when you decided to cover ‘Sweet Thing’? And where were you at when you covered it?’” Khan claimed Blige told her she was up late, until 8:00 a.m. “I said, ‘Girl, you don’t sing nothing at eight in the motherf*cking morning. Especially if you have to get up to sing it.’”
“If you’d been up all night, smoking crack or something, I don’t know,” she added. “It might have been a whole different thing. But you don’t get up at eight in the morning to sing, girl. But she and I have that kind of relationship. We can talk. I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to making it a motherf*cking problem.”
If that wasn’t controversial enough, Rolling Stone’s 200 Best Singers Of All Time list was also a topic of conversation. Chaka Khan, who made No. 29. shared her ire with not only the choices but where they were placed. “These b*tches are blind as a motherf*cking bat! They need hearing aids. They don’t have hearing aids? They have no eyes. They have no ears. These babies, you know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller!’”
After suggesting “payola” was the culprit, Khan avoided commenting on one singer in particular. When it came to Beyoncé, she didn’t want any smoke. Check it out above.
Rolling Stone really knows how to get the people going. Before publishing a widely reported, scathing scoop on the alleged dysfunction on the set of The Weeknd and Sam Levinson’s forthcoming HBO series, The Idol, there was the “200 Greatest Singers Of All Time” list, which drove Celine Dion fans to politely protest her exclusion outside of the magazine’s New York office.
Chaka Khan disputed the list for a different reason, and she wasn’t polite about it. The 10-time Grammy winner joined the latest episode of Los Angeles Magazine Presents: The Originals podcast with Andrew Goldman. At the end of the hour-long conversation, Khan said she hadn’t read the list — “I don’t read” — so Goldman filled her in by reading the blurb Rolling Stone wrote about her. Khan is ranked 29th.
“Just listening to that, if I didn’t know Chaka Khan, I would say, ‘Ooh, that earns at least a five. Maybe a 10, at the least,” she said. Khan agreed with Aretha Franklin topping the list (“As she f*cking should be! Thank you! There’s justice somewhere”) and Whitney Houston at No. 2 but belted her criticism of Mariah Carey’s fifth-place ranking with the oomph of “I’m Every Woman.”
“That must be payola or some sh*t like that,” Khan said of Carey’s positioning. She also declined to comment on Beyoncé at No. 8 before commenting on Beyoncé at No. 8: “I don’t have anything to say about Beyoncé. She’s a great singer. She really has [the] opportunity to be a great singer. She has what it takes. She got the chops. She does.”
Carey wasn’t the only one to upset Khan, as Adele, Christina Aguilera — “Whatever, a lot of Black people like Christina Aguilera. She’s alright” — and Mary J. Blige caught strays.
“I quit,” Khan said after Goldman revealed Adele ranked 22nd. And that was nothing compared to her reaction to Mary J.’s spot ahead of her at No. 25.
“You know what? That’s why I feel the way I do,” Khan said. “These are some blind bat b*tches. These b*tches are blind as a motherf*cking bat! They need hearing aids. They don’t have hearing aids. They have no eyes. They have no ears. You know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller.”
Whew. You’d think Khan was left off the list like Dion.
The Wine Down with Mary J. Blige is already creating a buzz online as clips of her conversation with Yung Miami and Taraji P. Henson gain attention. The Queen of Hip Hop-Soul recently announced her new talk show, and she’s kicking things off with a bang. Throughout her career, Blige has used music to express the ups and downs of life’s journey. In this episode, Blige asked Henson if she had a “boo” around these days. The acclaimed actress said she was flying solo, and it was something Yung Miami couldn’t believe.
“I honestly don’t,” said Henson of being cuffed up. Miami asked her if she likes someone or had a guy she simply has lunch with. Henson joked, “Where is he?” before suggesting that the love of her life may not be in America. “I keep saying that because all the men have been ran through.” It’s a sentiment that the City Girls rapper agreed with as she replied, “Mmhmm, that’s true.” Even Blige chimed in with, “Straight up and down. There’s a shortage.” Then, Yung Miami asked the singer if she was testing out the dating pool.
“Hell nah!” said Blige. She added she was enjoying time dating herself. “I take myself to dinner… Anyway. That’s too much information.” Henson called it “powerful” to be able to be with one’s self. Meanwhile, Miami may be the only one on the couch who has been booed up for some time. She and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been boasting about their unconventional relationship, and occasionally, they’ll drop off a photo or two from their jet-setting adventures.
At first, people trolled Yung Miami for what looked to be her one-sided public support of Diddy. The public believed she was putting in more effort than her beau, but both hitmakers made it clear that the feelings were mutual. When the internet fires up about their relationship, it isn’t uncommon for Puff to defend the Florida star.
In December 2022, Miami laid rumors to rest about her romance. “There are people who think that I’m like a side chick, and he can just do whatever he want,” she said with a smile. “And I’m just over here head over heels. No, it goes both ways. Ain’t nothing one-sided over here.” Check out more from Yung Miami, Taraji P. Henson, and Mary J. Blige above.
A new talk show has arrived, and Mary J. Blige is at the center. The Queen of Hip Hop-Soul is taking her talents to the hosting arena, and recently, she announced her new show, The Wine Down with Mary J. Blige. After teasing a trailer that revealed a handful of the icon’s first set of guests, BET shared a clip of Blige with Taraji P. Henson and Yung Miami. In the snippet, the ladies discussed love in all its forms.
“I think for me, love is like, a feeling,” said Miami. “When I feel like I love someone, it’s like a feeling that I get in my chest. In my soul. I feel like I can’t be without this person, I need this person every minute of the day.” Blige suggested she holds similar sentiments about love, albeit about how she feels on herself. “Ain’t nobody loving me better than me,” said the singer. Henson nodded in agreement.
Blige has been transparent about her journey of self-discovery. The music icon began her career as an aspiring singer from the Bronx. She detailed her heartache and trauma in her songs, but it was only in recent years that she began to find herself. “That’s how I’m learning about love,” Blige continued. “How I’m loving me, how I’m exploring me. Every piece of me on some, ‘Damn, this is what I was missing our on?’ When it comes to me, just really feeling myself on some personal. Not on some cocky.”
Last May, Blige spoke about her upbringing and how that shaped her in her formative years. “We lived in the projects. They put you in this experiment, and they want you to survive,” she said. “And I suffered a lot of damage from the hands of men, and thank God I survived. I didn’t care about myself, I didn’t want anything for myself. I wanted to die.”
Blige has also credited people like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Yung Miami’s hot and heavy love, for being in her corner. The pair are longtime friends, and he has been instrumental in the evolution of her career. She previously stated that it was Diddy who helped teach her how to have confidence in herself and push forward. Check out the clip above.
With a month of season two of BMF still unfolding, season three isn’t too far behind. Rapper 2 Chainz and R&B star Ne-Yo are entering the “50-Verse” by joining the cast for season three. SOHH also highlights nine other artists who have also become part of the family. Season three of Black Mafia Family also […]
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There’s nothing Mary J. Blige can’t do, and there’s very little she hasn’t done over the last two years.
In June 2021, her My Life documentary hit Amazon Prime Video. Last year involved an Emmy-winning Super Bowl LVI halftime show and the release of her album Good Morning Gorgeous, which generated six nominations at this month’s 2023 Grammys, where she performed the title track.
And so far, 2023 is shaping up to be another epic year in Blige’s decades-long iconic career. In December, Deadline reported Blige’s Blue Butterfly production company was partnering with BET on a “first-look non-scripted deal and a second-look scripted deal,” including a forthcoming talk show billed as The Wine Down.
We now have the official Wine Down trailer:
The caption teases, “The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, @therealmaryjblige invites you to her brand new raw and unfiltered series. Join Mary and some of her close friends for intimate conversations about life. Grab a glass and get ready for #TheWineDownBET. See you March 1st 10/9c!”
In the clip, Blige says, “Make some room ’cause something big is happening. You all know me as Mary, the entertainer, but I can’t wait for you to get to know Mary, the friend. This is what I always wanted to do. It’s a show that’s about me hanging out with people who I love, respect and admire. This is what conversations like this are for. It’s for people to hear us.”
The teaser features Blige sitting down with 50 Cent, Taraji P. Henson, and Yung Miami.
If The Wine Down isn’t enough to satisfy fans, Blige also has a children’s book due out next month. Pre-order Mary Can! here.
The Queen of R&B has struck again, this time with her newly anticipated talk show. Mary J. Blige’s The Wine Down has been picked up by BET and will be gracing our screens on March 1st. In the trailer released by the network, Blige admits that she’s been craving to host her own show. Luckily, the “Real Love” singer now has her own intimate space to initiate raw and thought-provoking discussions with her industry friends. Blige already has an incredible lineup for The Wine Down‘s guests and has hinted at features from 50 Cent, Taraji P. Henson, and Young Miami.
Blige has been proving her strength as a woman, especially since her 2022 release of Good Morning Gorgeous. The 19-track album earned Blige two nominations at the 2023 Grammys, her first nomination since 2007. Additionally, Good Morning Gorgeous became her 19th top 10 entry on the Billboard “Top R&B Albums” chart. The album initiated Blige’s 2022 North America tour.
Now, the 52-year-old singer is ready to give fans a look into her life through real conversations. The Wine Down won’t be Blige’s first dip into a series covering her life. In 2021, the Mary J. Blige’s My Life documentary was released on Amazon Prime. The film covers the early stages of Blige’s career, as well as her struggle for leading a healthy life.
In the teaser for The Wine Down, Blige explains her inspiration for creating a talk show: “you all know me as Mary the entertainer. but I can’t wait for you to get to know Mary the friend.” She goes on to say, “I always wanted to do a show that’s about me hanging out with people who I love, respect, and admire.” In a sneak peek of Blige’s sit down with 50 Cent, you can hear her asking him, “is anything off limits?” With the singer’s goal of the show to initiate authentic discussions, The Wine Down is expected to give fans a great insight into the real lives of their favorite stars. Be sure to catch The Wine Down’s two-episode special airing on BET on March 1st!
