Mary J. Blige has been in our ears and on our screens for over 35 years. The nine-time Grammy Award-winning queen of hip-hop soul has released her 14th album, Good morning beautifulin 2022 and recently co-starred in the directorial debut of actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rob Peacewhich debuted at the Sundance Film festival earlier this year.
From the looks of it, it's not slowing down at all. But in a new interview with Furthermore, the 53-year-old music icon who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this fall revealed that she is already thinking about her exit strategy. Asked what she's singing about these days, Blige said: “Mary sings about life. Life… love… with stability and understanding you can have things like love. You can have a good life.”
Just as importantly, Blige is also thinking about her future, which she said could include an exit from the stage sooner than you think. “Right now, I'm definitely going to do some more acting, and I'm definitely going to retire in five or six years,” he said. Furthermore without specifying what retirement would look like for her.
Now before you freak out, Blige — who has had memorable movie roles including Rock of Ages, Muddy and the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic Respect like Dina Washington — said retiring from music is more of a “contingency,” explaining, “Right now, I'm still doing what I'm doing, but not as often as I did because I don't need to now.”
For now, her future includes joining Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Kool & the Gang, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest at this year's RRHOF induction ceremony in Cleveland on October 19th. In a recent interview with Tamron Hall, Blige said she was “still trying to process” the news. “It's a big deal. I'm so thankful because I know it wasn't supposed to be this way, but it is, and I give all the credit to God. I don't even know what else to do. It's so humbling,” he said. “I don't know what to do other than be thankful and grateful.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/mary-j-blige-retire-five-six-years-interview-1235669806/
