Mary J. Blige has made at least one grown man cry in her lifetime. He happened to be a writer.
In his essay, “The Five-Mic Personality, or Why I Hate Mary J. Blige,” music writer Toure, whose work has graced Rolling Stone, Vibe, the New York Times, and Village Voice, writes about his tense interview with Blige, who evidently needed to improve her media relations skills. Toure claims she verbally attacked him during the interview, cutting the talk short and keeping him stuck in the car during an awkward car ride.
Though embarrassed, Toure grew to appreciate Blige for her confidence and eventual maturity, though he claims she “still won’t talk to you.” Blige is one of several pop culture icons profiled in his collection of articles called “Never Drank the Kool-Aid.” The title refers to a modern slang phrase, which means buying into what someone else tells you.
No Kool-Aid here. Instead, he questions music, sports and political figures to dig beyond their image and find out what makes them similar to Joe and Jane Public.
Here are some highlights from the collection:
• A revealing interview with hip-hop producer ?uestlove discusses the dark side of R&B singer D’Angelo’s brief sex symbol image during “Crack is Responsible for Hip-Hop.”
• Columbia University graduate Cliff Evans talks to Toure for “Rolling Stone” about his criminal attempt to get out of debt in “The Ivy League Counterfeiter.”
• A brief, previously unpublished essay observes another fallen rap star in “At Jam Master Jay’s Funeral.”
• Perhaps the best essay in the book is his recap of Lauryn Hill’s career. Also published in a De Capo’s Best Music Writing edition, “The Disappearance of Lauryn Hill,” written for Rolling Stone, taps into close friends and former Fugee members to gain insight on why Lauryn left “it all.”
• Don’t even ask me what “Condoleezza Rice is a House Negro” is about. Read it for yourself.
• Who knew Prince played a mean game of basketball. The Purple One lets down his guard in “You Can Call Him Prince.”
• Beyonce’s beauty queen status is examined without ever being debunked in “A Woman Possessed,” a Rolling Stone cover story.
