New Music: Mary J. Blige - 'Thick of It'
After debuting her new single “Thick of It” on stage over the weekend, Mary J. Blige delivers the studio version of her newest breakup anthem, co-written by Jazmine Sullivan.
Detailing her divorce from Kendu Isaacs, “Thick of It” allows the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul to once again channel real life experiences with her lyrics.
“I was there when no one wanted to stay with you, baby,” she sings. “You know I deserve all of this / Yes, I do / So tell me who’s gonna love you like I do?”
Mary filed for divorce from Isaacs in July, following 12 years of marriage. During an interview with Philadelphia’s WDAS, Blige opened up about the song.
“If you know me, you know what I’m dealing with right now,” she said. “The ‘Thick of It’ is the divorce and all this stuff that’s going on right now. It’s the heaviness of it and the whole thing…That’s where I am. I’m in the middle of a divorce and it doesn’t feel good. It feels terrible, but I have strength to get through and I get through by any means necessary.”
She continued, saying that she doesn’t mind being an open book with her music. “It’s not hard to be transparent when you’re actually trying to heal from something,” she said. “There’s no embarrassment.”
Mary has been working on Strength of a Woman, the follow-up to her 2014 album The London Sessions, along with the likes of Hit-Boy and Sullivan. Blige says Kanye West will also appear on a song titled “Love Yourself.”
She revealed how she came up with the album title. “For so many reasons,” she said. “We find that strength in us to not just survive these trials, but to thrive, to live, to get something out of it to not make the same mistakes again.”
Mary’s expanding her career horizons too. The singer recently interviewed Hillary Clinton on her new Apple Music program, “The 411.”
Next week, Blige is heading out on the “King and Queen of Hearts Tour” with Maxwell, starting Oct. 13 in Switzerland.