Mary J Blige was dubbed the queen of hip-hop soul by Sean Puffy Combs back in the 90s, yet she is often the Queen of the dance floor thanks to some incredible remixes over the years. In 2002, her CD ‘Dance For Me’ compiled several of her biggest songs remixed by the biggest names – Thunderpuss (No More Drama), Hex Hector & Mac Quayle (He Think I Don’t Know) and Junior Vasquez (Your Child). With five number one hits on the Billboard Club Chart, she continues to show dedication and a lot of love to clubland.


DJ Ron Slomowicz: I want to tell you, "I Am" is one of the biggest songs in the clubs right now.
Mary J Blige: Really?

RS: Oh yes, it’s flying up the dance club charts. The Moto Blanco mix is incredible. What involvement do you have with the dance remixes?
Mary J Blige: Well I approve them after they're done. I say OK, I love this one or I don't love this one. I grew up in a lot of 80s clubs, so I know what to listen for. That's my involvement, I have the ear.

RS: You're an icon to us. You were one of the first R&B artists to allow a remix album to come out, it was a few years ago on MCA.
Mary J Blige: I loved that CD and obviously people loved it because it did really well. I think it went double platinum or something. It was just a remix record.

RS: Do you ever do dates in clubs where you sing your club mixes?
Mary J Blige: You know what? I have never done the club mixes, but I'm going to start doing club mixes because I'm starting to notice that everybody wants the club mix.

RS: How did you find Starshell?

Mary J Blige: Well, in Vegas she was in the studio wandering around with a whole other set of people and her light was so bright and her energy was so great. It’s easy to pick a bright light out and say 'what are you doing here in all this darkness?' We put her under our wings and found out she was a genius and here it is right now.

RS: Is this your first time coming to Miami for the Winter Music Conference?
Mary J Blige: I think this is my first Music Conference since I came as a new artist.

RS: What's your take on it?
Mary J Blige: It’s friendly, the energy’s really nice. That’s because I want it to be but it’s cool.

RS: How is working in a dance role than working in your normal role, the hip-hop R&B role?
Mary J Blige: It's a completely different world because I think people are freer in the dance world, like you can really enjoy your life in the dance world. In the hip-hop world there are restrictions, there's this, you can't do that, if you do this you're going to sell out, blah, blah, blah. In the dance world you can have wings and go.

RS: Another big record of yours, "Be Without You," it was big as an R & B song and the club record is still massive today. When you made that record did you have any idea it would be as big as it would be?
Mary J Blige: You know, when I first finished the record I knew there was something special about it, I was like 'wow, there's something with this record.' I couldn't predict what it was going to be but I know it just completed me when I heard it. There was no wavering, it was like bang, this is it.

RS: I often see you performing on TV doing massive shows. Do you ever get nervous going up on stage on that international level like that?
Mary J Blige: You know, I get nervous when I'm about to take on something new. Like for instance, when we did the song with Andrea Bocelli at the Grammys, I was a little nervous because I've never sung to that big of an audience with an opera singer. I did it on Oprah and had a taste of it. So I was nervous, but once I got out there, he showed me his eyes and he never shows anyone his eyes. Then, all my nervousness went away.

RS: Another thing I love about you is not afraid to take risks. I remember back in 2002 when you sang "Love is a Battlefield" with Sharkira at Divas Las Vegas on VH1. Was that a challenging song for you to sing?
Mary J Blige: "Love is a Battlefield" is not a challenging song because it’s the most sang song for all the young girls that grew up in the 80s. We sung that song to death, so it wasn't a challenge.

RS: What would you like to say to all your dance fans out there?
Mary J Blige: I want to say to all my dance fans thank you so much for your support, thank you very much. Keep your wings, keep flying, keep being free and now I'm going to be free with you.

Interview conducted March 2010.