Happy Birthday, Mary J. Blige: MJB is still the MVP
Issue # 013 (the A/B-Side): Three lessons from MJB, + way more
A-Side
Mary J. Blige, the undisputed Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, celebrated her 50th birthday on Monday, January 11! Here are 3 quick and random lessons we can learn from MJB:
Boundaries are to be held and re-inforced.
At a birthday get-together, Mary posed for a picture with singer Tyrese. Tyrese reached for her thigh, but Mary promptly slapped his hand away 🤣. She’s still no-nonsense. No matter how comfortable other people are around you, take a lesson from MJB and set and reinforce your boundaries.
The Spotlight is to be Shared
After making his demo tape, Microphone Murderer, The Notorious B.I.G. signed to Uptown Records, before moving to Diddy’s newly formed Bad Boy Records. He appeared on one song in ‘92, Heavy D & The Boyz' "A Buncha N*ggas,” before joining Mary J. Blige on quite a few songs in 1993: "Dolly My Baby (extended Bad Boy remix),” “What's the 411? (remix),” and "Real Love (remix).” Mary was just 2-3 years in the game. The spotlight is always big enough for more than just you.
Longevity is the Name of the Game.
You can buy a lot of things in the music industry, but real, sustained longevity is not one of them. In “MJB Da MVP,” a single off of her 2005 album The Breakthrough, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul samples The Game’s “Hate It or Love It” track as she breaks down her career and what it took for her to make it to the top.
“ ’91 I stepped in this game / After ‘What’s the 411’ things ain’t been the same /
and I can’t complain but with all this fame comes a whole lot of pain /
but I’m so glad to be here / and my music’s still sincere /
let’s get back to the story / all of this pain and glory /
and ’94 was ‘My Life’ and my life wasn’t right /
so I reached out to you and told you what I been through”
She goes on to tease though her discography, reminding us
“ Hate it or love /
(the underdogs on top)/ (and I’m gonna shine homie until my heart stops) /
go ‘head envy me / I’m the soul hip hop queen / and I ain’t going nowhere / but you already know me”
From 1991 (born in 1971 though) to 2021 (and beyond), MJB has been and still is the MVP.
B-Side
What’s the 411?
Happy 50th Birthday to MJB! When I started this newsletter, I wanted a dedicated section for music and industry news and I had to name it after Mary J. Blige’s “What’s the 411?” album.
Cardi B landed her first lead movie role in “Assisted Living,” a comedy from Paramount. According to Variety, the film, based on an original screenplay by Kay Oyegun “follows Amber (Cardi B), a small-time crook who finds herself in over her head when a heist goes wrong. On the run from the cops and her former crew, she struggles to find anywhere to hide. Running out of options, Amber disguises herself as an elderly woman and hides out in the one place no one will look — her estranged grandmother’s nursing home.”
Remember when I wrote a breakdown of the legal battle over copyright infringement between Nicki Minaj and Tracy Chapman (A-Side/B-Side Issue # 007)? We have a new update on the case: In order to avoid a trial, Chapman accepted a $450,000 settlement offer from Nicki. 💰
The #BussIt challenge is everywhere, but earlier in 2020, people made fun of 1501 Certified Ent rapper Erica Banks because no one knew the words to “Buss It” during her performance. Thanks to Erica Banks’ tenacity and TikTok, the song has emerged as the first and biggest viral trend of 2021. The single, released in June 2020, racked up 1.7 million streams (in the U.S. alone) during the first week of 2021.
Song(s) of the Week
“Roaring 20s” by Flo Milli (produced by Kenny Beats)
“Endlessly” by (Nanayaw Appiah-Kubi) / ZeNith (@zenithxmusic)
A note from the creator, Nanayaw:
“While Zac and I are continuing to make the best music we’re capable of, I wanted to make sure I could contribute greater to our creative process. Up until now, Zac has been the primary producer for us. So this past year, I devoted hours into understanding how to make music of my own (I was on my Kanye 5 beats a day type of energy). While the goal was to become a greater musician, I ended up falling in love with the craft of beat making and decided to create a beat tape of my own. While I see myself as a performer first, I’ve been crazy eager to share this with you all. Making music is all lil me wanted to do and now I’m making up for lost time.”
“Endlessly,” and the rest of the beat tape Make Believe, is out now.
Executive Producers (+ Mix and Mastering): Nanayaw Appiah-Kubi and Zach Patterson
Additional Production by Sadiq Ervin and Dani Rowe
Get into it, yuhhh!!!!
Pass the Mic
I am, once again, begging you to read my work. For The Gumbo (a media platform and social club for and by Black women who love Hip-hop), I wrote about the 2 generations of club music born out of Newark, NJ: old school, “Jersey Sound” house music from Club Zanzibar in the 80s & 90s, and new school, Jersey club music. I broke down the history of both, including a deep-dive into Club Zanzibar (iykyk, and if you don’t, read the article).
🎤 “Imprinted on Newark’s memory and legacy, these two generations of club music have forged themselves as legitimate, generation-defining sounds, heard and celebrated not just locally, but around the country and the world...The legacy is strong, and despite attempted erasure and appropriation, it [Jersey Club Music] will undoubtedly continue to be home-grown for generations to come.” — me, Ayanna Costley, Jersey Sound and Jersey Club Music: Two Generations of New Jersey Culture
And this time, I actually pass the mic:
🎤 “From vocals to production to event promotion, women from the Garden State are not an aside in the history of Jersey Club music, but instead important contributors who deserve to be celebrated.” — Flisadam Pointer, The Unsung Women Innovators of Jersey Club Music
From the Archives
The Complete Story of Roxanne, The Album (1985)
The Credits
Thank you to all of the new subscribers! Welcome to A-Side/B-Side! See yall next week (or the week after). ❤️💜🤍