In Fox Searchlight’s “Black Nativity,” out this Wednesday, November 27, Mary J. Blige plays Platinum Fro, an angel who looks out for Jacob Latimore’s character Langston. The Source Magazine sat down with Mary J. Blige to discuss her role in the film.
How did you get involved with “Black Nativity”?
Mary J. Blige: Well I was asked to be in the film by Kasi, and that’s how I got involved.
What was it like working with Kasi Lemmons?
Mary J. Blige: Oh man, she is an amazing woman. She’s so sure about herself and very very calm.
What did you love about the character?
Mary J. Blige: What I loved about the character is that she was dressed up and she was fun, and angelic, but at the same time a figure of helping people and guiding people, which is you know – the angel.
I loved your hair, can you tell me about that? Did that transform you in any way?
Mary J Blige: I mean the hair definitely transformed me. (laughs) It made me into you know an angelic creature because I wouldn’t normally be walking down the street with a halo of white hair like that. So yeah!
Is there anyone like that in your life? Someone you view as an angel maybe in your career or life?
Mary J. Blige: There’s so many people like that. Some of the women I’ve known in the music business and that are my friends still they always have a good word or some great advice for me. My mom and my grandmother and my aunts, just so many people.
How important are faith and religion in your life? This is a very spiritual film.
Mary J. Blige: Well faith is extremely important. Religion I don’t really know, it’s just religion, but if you ask me what is my faith, I’m a Christian. I love God, and I believe in Christ, so it’s important.
Where did your passion for acting come from?
Mary J. Blige: My passion for acting came a long time ago when I was a kid. My music teacher would put me in some of the plays in school. It just was in me for a very long time. I never went for it until now in my career, so it’s definitely been in me for a long time.
What do you like about acting?
Mary J Blige: I love transforming. I love to be able to become something else, and use something familiar to become that thing. Use my life, or my mother’s life, just transform because for a minute you’re not you, but at the same time you are you. So it’s just another way of expressing myself, just like through my music, it’s another way of getting things out.
“Black Nativity” is a gritty New York tale. You grew up in New York. Can you tell me how New York influences you as an artist, musician, actress?
Mary J. Blige: New York has completely influenced my career. It’s given me a lot of urgency, a lot of energy, a lot of survival tactics. So yeah it’s really helped me.
There is a great scene in “Black Nativity,” you have your big musical number. Can you tell me about that day when you shot your big musical number and you’re up there and everyone is dancing around you.
Mary J Blige: Aww it was fun. It was so much love, people were so happy…You saw everyone dancing doing the “Rise Up Shepherd” dance. But it was so funny to watch them because I didn’t know they were all gonna be bowing down to me. So I really wanted to crack up so when I got into it I really started acting. It was fun though.
There are also a lot of great musicians in the film and would like to ask you about each separately.
Can you tell me what you admire Jennifer Hudson?
Mary J. Blige: I mean I just admire her strength, I admire her acting, I admire her as a person, and vocally of course she’s just amazing.
Jacob Latimore is a young star on the rise.
Mary J. Blige: I’m a fan already of his character, not even in the movie, just who he is as a young man and how he carried himself on the set, he inspired me, and helped me. He’s ready.
Then we have Nas who you’ve worked with before, you’ve known for years. Can you tell me what it was like working with him in a film environment?
Mary J. Blige: Nas is the prophet. He’s always been the person with the message. He’s just always been a great person. He’s very into what he is doing. He has a lot of integrity and his life shows that.
Raphael Saadiq is someone you’ve worked with as well, can you tell me what was it like working with him on the music for the soundtrack?
Mary J. Blige: I love Raphael Saadiq. You get great music, great laughs, great everything. Raphael is the truth and the music he gives me is the music that I love. He did an amazing job with the film.
Can you tell me about working with Raphael in the studio?
Mary J. Blige: Raphael, he let’s me do what I want to do and if he has any suggestions he gives me his suggestions, but it’s pretty loose because he knows I know what I’m doing, and he knows I know what he’s doing. I’ve worked with him before on couple of songs.
This is a gospel film, can you tell me your favorite gospel singers?
Mary J. Blige: The Clark Sisters, that’s my favorite female gospel group of all time, since “You Brought the Sunshine,” since I was a little girl.
“Black Nativity” also has hip hop elements with Nas rapping and you being the Hip Hop Soul queen, can you talk about how hip hop has emerged?
Mary J. Blige: The type of music that I created is called hip hop soul, so I was the first to do it, and I think that everything just evolves. There are different ways of doing it, and there’s a new generation that has done it. Rihanna has done it really well, and besides that club music, there was a time when there was club music before in the eighties, before the new jack swing and then here came us, then came all the new stuff. So right now where Miguel is, it’s back to what Babyface used to do and R&B music, so I think we’re back there, which we’re in a good place because I was a little worried about two years ago when there was just too much synthesizers and not good club music everywhere.
So you like that we’re going back to the basics, going back to the past?
Mary J. Blige: I love that we’re going back to the basics because I want this generation and the generation after to feel what we felt when we were growing up.
TLC just did a big biopic. Do you think we will see a Mary J. Blige biopic, is that something you would be interested in?
Mary J. Blige: Not right now, I don’t know about a biopic about my entire life, but maybe something about the music business.
The Source celebrated it’s 25th Anniversary this year, do you have any reflections?
Mary J. Blige: Wow…my first cover..in the ice chair that was The Source. Shootout to The Source for giving me my throne, my ice throne and my white ski jacket. That picture is classic, it’s timeless. That’s all I can say. Thank you Source for everything.
Read Part I of our interview with Mary here, where she discusses her Christmas album, “A Mary Christmas” out now.
