Our good sis Mary J. Blige just turned 50 years old last month. But Mary couldn’t turn 50 quietly, she had to stunt on folks in a gold snakeskin bikini that showed off her well toned body on a beach in Turks and Caicos. I personally can’t believe Mary is 50 but then again I’ll be 45 in April so it tracks. Mary J. was recently on Ellen DeGeneres to promote her partnership with Gold Bond (I love this brand for my skin). In the interview Mary talks about how she cried when the clock struck midnight on her birthday because she was so grateful that she made it to 50. As someone who has lost several friends over the last few years who were all under 50, I feel Mary’s gratitude about being able to be here another day longer. So many of us don’t live to see 50. Mary said during quarantine she listened to her first albums for the first time. She hates listening to herself sing or speak but the experience was eye opening. Below are a few excerpts from the interview via People:

First telling host Ellen DeGeneres that she feels “great,” Blige, who was promoting her new partnership with Gold Bond, then explained that “when it hit 12 o’clock that night, I just cried like a baby because I made it.”

“I’ve been through hell in my life and to make it to 50, it was just beautiful,” she added. “Family and friends were around, it was just beautiful.”

Last month, Blige rang in her 50th birthday by sharing a selection of snapshots from her Turks and Caicos beach vacation.

Donning a gold snakeskin halter bikini for the series of photographs, Blige accessorized her high-shine look with a pair of tinted sunglasses and an array of gold jewelry. The Grammy award-winning singer also showed off her toned physique and blonde braids in the two pics.

Later during her Ellen interview, Blige also opened up about listening to her past work for the first time amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Well, I really didn’t like to listen to even the sound of my speaking voice, let alone, listen back to Mary. J Blige,” the “Family Affair” crooner explained to DeGeneres, 63. “But I’ve grown so much.”

“During the quarantine, I don’t know. Something just said listen to some Mary J. Blige and I did,” she continued. “I felt like an outside person doing it.”

The artist went on to explain how listening to her old music turned out to be therapeutic, helping her through the quarantine times.

“As I was listening, what blew me away was so many of the lyrics was helping me now, during quarantine and in my life,” Blige said. “And what I couldn’t understand was how could somebody so messed up — that was drinking and on drugs and just a crazy, young person — write those lyrics that can help me through everything that I’m going through right now? It was like listening to another person.”

[From People]

Mary J. has been dropping little nuggets over the last few years. Especially after going through her very public divorce a few years back. I’ll always remember Mary J’s drug-fueled toxic relationship with K-Ci from Jodeci and that crazy ass diamond ring he bought her. That relationship ended in a blaze and Mary J. found herself enduring public humiliation for several years afterward. So it was sad to me when she ended up with a guy who did the same thing to her several years later. Mary deserves better. I like how Mary said in a different interview that sometimes you have to shed people despite it being sad, you gotta let some people go. I feel like Mary has grown a lot over the last few years. Despite her very public relationships (sort of like JLo) Mary continues to make beautiful art and I am so happy that she was able to listen to her earlier work and appreciate it. Her music was literally a part of the soundtrack of my life in my early 20s. “You’re All I Need” with Method Man was my jam.

Anyways, I am glad that Mary got clean and that she is still with us because I am so tired of losing my childhood heroes. I look forward to the music that Mary will create going forward. She has come out of some dark times and those stories make for amazing songs that touch the soul. Big cousin Mary can continue “staunting on them hoes” with photos in these itty bitty bikinis. She is giving me all the motivation I need to get my ass off my sofa and shed these 60lbs. Perhaps I will adopt those jerking auntie moves that Mary is known for when she tries to dance. With that being said, I am wishing Mary decades of life to live out on this planet. Mary J’s music is a cultural touchstone for us Black kids who came of age in the 90s and we will always love her for this.

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