With musical legends, Mary J. Blige and Nas, linking up this summer for a joint tour and a new MJB album coming out later this year, the duo connected on a new song called “Thriving” to set things off right. With a driving beat produced by Darhyl Camper Jr. and an incisive verse from Nas, Mary sings her own praises, saying that she’s not just surviving but thriving in recent years, despite her last album, Strength Of A Woman, coming out in 2017.
Earlier this year, Mary made the shift from music to acting in the Netflix superhero drama Umbrella Academy, playing a ruthless hitwoman with a fantastic name who challenges the protagonists as they search for their father’s killer. It’d be tough to call it a late-career transition, though, because after the success of Strength Of A Woman, to think that Mary J. has even gotten close to the end of her run in the spotlight would be selling her short.
Nas, meanwhile, had an up-and-down 2018. In a year that included accusations of abuse from ex-wife Kelis and plagiarism from a Bay Area producer, Nas took a gamble on the Kanye-produced Nasir, which turned out to be well-produced but omissive — and which got overshadowed the week of its release by Jay-Z and Beyonce’s joint album, Everything Is Love. Fortunately for Nas, he was able to bounce back by featuring on Swizz Beats’ Poison, and make a recent appearance at Jay-Z’s well-received B-Sides concert.
We’ll see if the chemistry between Nas and Mary can sustain an entire tour — or the collaboration album the two are rumored to have in the works. For now, we can look forward to Mary’s upcoming album, My Life II… There’s Something About Me, My Self & MaryJane (Act 2), and their joint tour, which you can find more info for here.
