Mary J. Blige has zero interest in appearing on a ‘Verzuz’ battle
"Right now, it’s not something that’s on the top of my list," Blige says in a recent interview
Mary J. Blige has made it known that she does not plan to appear on a Verzuz battle, telling The Breakfast Club on Friday that she has no interest in participating in the virtual music event.
“I don’t know what a Verzuz would do for me,” said the “Not Gon’ Cry” singer when asked her thoughts in an interview on the Power 105.1 morning show.
DJ Envy posed the idea to the nine-time Grammy winner, referring to Blige as an “unbeatable artist.”
Charlamagne tha God agreed, saying that Blige, who grew up in Yonkers, New York, and Brooklyn billionaire rapper Jay-Z were the only two “unbeatable” entertainers that could appear on the virtual music show.
READ MORE: Mary J. Blige recalls recording of ‘My Life’ album in new documentary
Co-host Angela Yee pointed out that there had been rumors of Blige being paired with fellow Grammy-winner Toni Braxton for a possible matchup. When Yee stated that Verzuz was more of a celebration than a competition, the “Family Affair” singer once again rejected the idea.
“I’m not sure what a Verzuz could do for Mary J. Blige right now,” said Blige, adding “right now, it’s not something that’s on the top of my list.”
Yee even suggested that perhaps Blige could do a one-person Verzuz with special guests, in the vein of singer/songwriter D’Angelo, who back in February did a solo Verzuz from New York City’s Apollo Theater. He was joined by guests like trumpeter Keyon Harrold, singer H.E.R. and rap duo Method Man and Redman.
However, Charlamagne scoffed at that idea, saying that fans should “just pay for a ticket for a concert.”
All three hosts heaped praise on Blige’s vast catalog.
“It’s gotta be an extended 100 song Verzuz, ’cause you got too many songs,” Yee said. “I don’t even know how could you narrow it down to 20.”
READ MORE: Black Twitter rejoices over first female rap Verzuz between Eve, Trina
Blige was appearing on The Breakfast Club to promote her new documentary, Mary J. Blige’s My Life, which premiered Friday on Amazon Prime Video. The documentary, directed by Academy Award winner Vanessa Roth, features Blige chronicling the making of her 1994 sophomore LP, My Life.
The documentary captures Blige candidly discussing the obstacles of her tumultuous upbringing and how she poured her turmoil into her lyrics on hit songs like “Be Happy” and “You Bring Me Joy.” The Breakfast Club hosts all expressed how much the film affected them emotionally.
“I cried, like, three times,” Charlamagne said.
Blige offered, “it was painful going back and seeing all that stuff,” before saying that she is now “strong enough” to revisit the time period and experiences of making the album.
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