Mary J. Blige on "My Life, My Story" residency, Dr. Dre & Jay-Z stories & her BIGGEST hip hop influences

Summary

Podcast Summary: Joe and Jada – Mary J. Blige on “My Life, My Story” Residency, Dr. Dre & Jay-Z Stories & Her Biggest Hip Hop Influences

Episode Date: January 27, 2026
Guests: Mary J. Blige
Hosts: Fat Joe and Jadakiss (Joe Budden as “Jada”)
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts & The Volume

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Main Theme

This episode brings hip-hop royalty Mary J. Blige to the Joe and Jada show for an in-depth and candid conversation. The main focus is on Mary’s upcoming Las Vegas residency, “My Life, My Story,” with forays into her earliest career experiences, untold moments with Dr. Dre and Jay-Z, her enduring influence, and the impact of heartbreak in her music. The vibe is celebratory, raw, and full of iconic anecdotes from three legends of the game.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Las Vegas Residency: “My Life, My Story”

• Mary’s Perspective:
  Mary opens up about the transition from touring to doing a Vegas residency, expressing the significance of this milestone in her career.
  • “At this point in your career, this is where you're supposed to be…you go to Vegas, you sit there, you sit in a mansion, hotel, whatever. And then you go to place.” (07:32)
• Residency Details:
  • The show will be different, with theatrical storytelling, actors, and performances of B-sides rarely done live.
  • “It’s gonna be a Mary J. Blige show with little bits of, like, things involved to pull on your memory from interviews that I’ve done.” (42:43)
• Anticipation & Community:
  • The hosts make it clear the entire New York scene is planning to attend and promote the run.
  • “If you gotta stay seventeen in the hotel room, seventeen people, go do it.” (62:40)

2. Early Career, Influences & First Breaks

• From Yonkers to Stardom:
  Mary reminisces about recording “Caught Up in the Rapture” on a karaoke machine at White Plains mall, which later got to Andre Harrell through Jeff Red—kickstarting her career.
  • “I recorded Caught up in the Rapture…and Jeff Red was already on…He gave the tape to Andre Harrell…Rest is history.” (12:31)
• Anita Baker’s Influence:
  • “It wasn’t Caught up in the Rapture that put me on to Anita Baker. It was Angel.” (14:34)
• Hip-Hop Roots & Block Parties:
  Mary details growing up with block parties, school dances, and legendary Yonkers DJs.
  • “Yonkers had a lot of block parties…KRS-One was a big deal. Big Daddy Kane…Jungle Brothers, Houdini, all of that.” (34:10–36:18)

3. The Realness of Mary’s Storytelling

• Pain/Empowerment Dynamic:
  Mary addresses fans who always connect her best work to her pain and heartbreak.
  • “I was sad, I was suicidal, I was crying over some nigga all the time...I was honestly just giving where I was at. So when I sang ‘Just Fine’, I wanted to be just fine. I wanted to be happy.” (20:14)
  • On staying true to herself: “You want my old music? Go buy my old album…I can't stay miserable for you guys.” (02:00, 20:49)
• Mary’s Music Touches Everyone:
  Men and women, even “hustlers and construction workers,” are impacted by her songs like “I’m Goin’ Down.”
  • “There’s men singing the song…I'm talking about men. Men. Men…It helped them through, kept them going.” (24:13)

4. Stories Behind Major Collaborations

• Jay-Z’s Debut:
  • Mary was brought in for Jay’s first album through Dame Dash, paid in a brown paper bag of cash.
    • “‘They gave me the money in a brown bag…Went in the studio, Irv [Gotti] was there, did the verse and that was it. Here we are.’” (47:53)
• The Making of “Family Affair” (with Dr. Dre):
  • Mary almost refused to add a bridge to the track, but Dr. Dre insisted.
    • “If you don’t do a bridge, I'm gonna take my name off it…I went and wrote the bridge, killed the bridge…” (53:38, 55:10)
    • The bridge: “We don’t need no haters, we’re just trying to love one another…” (55:10)
  • When even her bus driver (a white, bluegrass fan) was playing the song on his own station, Mary realized she had “made it.” (55:23)
• Protecting Work in the Music Industry:
  Both Mary and Fat Joe recount stories of playing unfinished records for friends, only to have ideas or samples stolen.
  • “If you got something hot, don't tell nobody…You got to protect your blessings." (45:14–45:17)

5. Fashion, Privacy & Life Lessons

• Mary's Legendary Style:
  • On her closet: “It's insane. I can't even find half the stuff…I gave a lot away…I wish I didn’t.” (41:25–41:40)
  • Anecdotes about Luther Vandross and Patti LaBelle’s closet habits.
• Privacy & Relationships:
  • Mary keeps her relationships out of the public out of self-protection.
    • “To the world, he’s a mystery man. But to my family and friends, he’s not.” (59:16)
  • Fat Joe shares why he won't ever do reality TV with his family for the same reason—keeping relationships healthy.

6. On Hip Hop, Block Parties, and Yonkers Legends

• Foundational Artists:
  • Deep dives about DJ culture, supreme block parties, the impact of the school 12 scene, Yonkers street anthems, and early mixtape memories.
• Hip-Hop Game Introduction:
  • She shouts out key DJs and MCs: KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Houdini, S&Sonic, and more.
  • “Wheels was a big deal…skating rings gave us a lot of good hip hop.” (36:18)

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

Mary on Heartbreak Music:

• “Oh, I want Mary to be sad again, you know, ho said it best. You want my old music, go buy my old album.” (02:00, 20:49)

On Her Breakthrough:

• “I recorded Caught up in the Rapture…and Jeff Red gave the tape to Andre Harrell…Rest is history, you hear?” (12:31)

On the Influence of Yonkers DJs:

• “If you was a legendary DJ from y’all…they was rocking…that’s how we learned all the hip hop shit. So KRS1 and Big Daddy eras one.” (35:17–36:18)

On Family Affair's Creation:

• “If you don't do a bridge, I'm gonna take my name off it. I said, okay, I wanna do the bridge. So I went and wrote the bridge, killed the bridge, sent it to Dre.” (53:38, 55:10)

On Protecting Creative Work:

• “If you got something hot, and it’s still the game. If you got something hot, don't tell nobody.” (45:14)

On Universal Appeal:

• “It helped them [men] through, kept them going. ‘I'm going down’ helped them to stay on the corner and sell the drugs…” (24:13)

On Her Closet:

• “It’s insane. And I can’t even find half of the stuff that I wore through the years…gave a lot away…wish I didn’t.” (41:25)

On Keeping Her Man’s Identity Private:

• “To the world, he's a mystery man. But to my family and friends, he's not. So we're not doing that.” (59:16)

On Early Experiences with Jay-Z:

• “Gave me the money in a brown paper bag…I didn’t know he was gonna be what he was, but I knew my girl.” (47:53)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [07:32] – Mary on the transition to Vegas residency
• [12:31] – Story of how her demo reached Andre Harrell
• [14:34] – Anita Baker’s influence on Mary
• [20:14] – Mary on how personal pain shaped her music
• [24:13] – The universal impact of her music—men singing Mary’s heartbreak anthems
• [34:10–36:18] – Yonkers block party culture and the roots of her hip-hop love
• [42:43] – The residency as a theater/music blend with narrative elements
• [45:14] – The realness of theft in the music and entertainment industry
• [47:53] – The origin of her Jay-Z collaboration
• [53:38, 55:10] – The making of “Family Affair” and Dr. Dre’s input
• [59:16] – On privacy in relationships

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Tone and Memorable Moments

• The conversation is lively, irreverent, and full of mutual respect.
• Numerous jokes about fashion, jewelry, and their history together, including birthday celebrations and shared memories on tour and at clubs.
• Mary frequently gives love to her Yonkers roots, the influences of both R&B and hip hop, and the crucial role of local block parties in shaping her sound (“School 12 parties,” “Mother Earth behind the ropes”).
• Fat Joe and Jada balance deep questions with playful banter, such as Fat Joe’s lament about having gifts to “buy Mary this chain” (05:47), and group singalongs of “Happy Birthday” (05:20, 09:26).
• The trio reflect on the ups and downs of relationships and life in hip-hop, never straying far from authenticity and community pride.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a goldmine for fans of Mary J. Blige, hip-hop history, and anyone who cherishes stories of resilience and creativity. Mary invites listeners into her journey—navigating the demands of fame, the catharsis of heartbreak, the power of hip hop, and the joy of performing for her people.

The conversation ultimately celebrates legacy, survival, and growth—serving as its own form of empowerment, much like Mary’s legendary discography.

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Transcript

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[Joe Budden]

Thy ticket lady Jennifer of Coolidge.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times.

[Commercial Narrator]

You're playing the loot.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?

[Sponsor Representative]

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[Fat Joe]

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[Mary J. Blige]

And I can't please everybody. Oh, I want Mary to be sad again. You know Hope said it best. You want my old music? Go buy my old album.

[Fat Joe]

It's the God crack, Kim.

[Joe Budden]

You know who it is. Your boy Jada. It's the Joe and Jada show. Every show legendary, every show iconic. And we crushing these niggas now. When you think of today's guest, we gonna have to cut it a little short. Cause we could be here for hours. When you think of today's guest, you think a genuine, you think the queen of hip hop show.

[Fat Joe]

I'm talking Bridgerton.

[Joe Budden]

You think of coming from a household with some good ass food, you think of some of the best siblings I know. You know DMX bought us the Rough Riders, but you don't know. She passed out. Actual demo tape, which actually got us our first record deal.

[Fat Joe]

We do that for that.

[Joe Budden]

You think of being able to withstand and persevere through all of the errors and just evolve and get better and get richer and get more everything. Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise.

[Fat Joe]

No, no, no. We got.

[Joe Budden]

You want to keep going?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, we got to keep going.

[Joe Budden]

You think a slow bomb?

[Fat Joe]

Oh, yes.

[Joe Budden]

You think a. Yo, that's right. You think a yak is high?

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Mary Jane. You think Arthur's.

[Joe Budden]

You think of Brown Eyes?

[Fat Joe]

That's right.

[Joe Budden]

D. Leon.

[Fat Joe]

That's right.

[Joe Budden]

Think of wheels. Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for Mary Jane Cloud.

[Fat Joe]

Thank you.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank y'. All. Thank y'. All. Thank y'. All. So what's up? That's the biggest, y'.

[Fat Joe]

All. Yo, sis, you looking like. You're looking like a bag of money out there. Everybody turn their ringers off.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah. Cause we got a live studio audience in case some of y' all too young. And y' all know about the shows that used to be taped with a live studio on today, if you say anything too loud or your ringer goes off, you're gonna get kicked out this house. This is a very serious, important show to me.

[Fat Joe]

Biggest.

[Mary J. Blige]

I couldn't be here today. My bag is not in here. Right. Because my ring is on.

[Fat Joe]

No, that's your shit.

[Joe Budden]

You get the pastor. Your phone can ring like. You can go like a slot machine, Vegas. Your phone can ring all the whole episode.

[Mary J. Blige]

And you good.

[Fat Joe]

Okay, latonya, listen, that you got on, I see you already got your money from the chimney fire.

[Joe Budden]

Yo, you shooting at me.

[Mary J. Blige]

I said, it's crazy.

[Fat Joe]

Insurance fire. He you the fastest insurance money I ever seen.

[Joe Budden]

I said, my chimney didn't catch on fire.

[Mary J. Blige]

N. It just.

[Joe Budden]

I had to open your thing.

[Fat Joe]

But, yeah, our sister is in the building.

[Joe Budden]

It's her birthday. Can we. We can't. No. We show love here.

[Fat Joe]

So, ladies and gentlemen, sing Happy Birthday in the raspy.

[Joe Budden]

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Mary Happy birthday to you thank you.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you.

[Fat Joe]

Thank God Mary ain't my wife. Cause she know how to convince me. She look at you, she be like, joey, I like that chain. Joey, I like that chain. Joey, I like that chain. Ah, fuck it. Let me go buy Mary this chain. She told me today, you ain't get me no gift. I said, well, did Lorena get you, sis? She said, yeah, that's the same bank account. It's in the same fucking family. We don't miss on the gifts. Like, you gotta stop, sis. We love you so much. The whole thing is that the whole world love you. So it don't got like. We can't over love the whole world. The love like compassion.

[Joe Budden]

However much the world. Lover. I love her a little bit over the world. Cause I wouldn't really be here. Right? You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

Incredible.

[Joe Budden]

I know. You said Chris Lighty pulled up to your projects. This and that and this. That, this the way you like to go. This, that, this. Yeah, we had a lot of meetings. They curved us a lot. We was hearing a lot of shit. We finally got the demo that we thought was strong enough. Shout out to my brother, J. Bob Jamarco Miller.

[Fat Joe]

That's your cousin.

[Joe Budden]

Yes, sir. Make some noise for my man Bob.

[Fat Joe]

Out of here.

[Joe Budden]

You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

Yo, it's also latonya.

[Joe Budden]

Lt definitely latonya's birthday. Happy birthday to lt. We got stuff for her.

[Fat Joe]

You ain't called her yesterday to sing a Happy Birthday. I did.

[Joe Budden]

I'm singing to her right now.

[Fat Joe]

Sis, how you feeling? You don't just promote, boy, do you promote? Like, you'll stay quiet for a minute, but I done seen you on Good Morning America.

[Joe Budden]

Sherry, this different level.

[Fat Joe]

You was not fucking around, talking about this residency.

[Mary J. Blige]

I have to. I mean, it's. It's a huge deal. It's. I mean, at. At this point in your career, this is where you're supposed to be. You know, touring is one thing. It's amazing. But, you know, it's a lot of getting on buses, getting on planes, running up and down the road. But this is like, you know, you go to Vegas, you sit there, you sit in a mansion, hotel, whatever. And then you go to place.

[Fat Joe]

And for you, we ain't going by. We gonna rent the mansion just to go to her show every night. Okay, coming.

[Joe Budden]

We gonna beat him. Y' all think we're not gonna beat it. Everybody, I don't think you know, when they first announced it, the world, it was like covet. Yeah, you know about Barry's come. My mom even called me Jason. I heard Mary. I said, ma got you. Don't worry. My God. So that's.

[Fat Joe]

Let me tell you. It's two, right? It's two. That's crazy. Lorenta's brother from Colombia, Lucito. My brother, he don't speak much English. But he know Mary. But he don't really know Mary. Cause he's into reggaeton. And all that shit. So when he asked me, I said, well, she's the English Marc Anthony. That's the best way to describe it. Cause Mark Anthony, legend, he sell out Madison Square Garden right now. He'll be like, tonight's show sold out. Like, that's how Mary is. So I'm trying to explain them. You know, Mark Anthony, all the years, number one hits. That's who she is in English. But Mark Anthony got a residency out there, too. So we all just.

[Mary J. Blige]

Oh, nice.

[Sponsor Representative]

Wow.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. Or the win. Caesar's or the win.

[Fat Joe]

I don't know. He has.

[Joe Budden]

I don't know.

[Fat Joe]

I don't know. How about that? I just pull up my new. As I'm sneaking in everything. I just pull up.

[Joe Budden]

Hold on.

[Fat Joe]

I went to Monica and Brandy.

[Joe Budden]

Lt don't like to get on camera, but this for Marianne. Lt bring in it. Scarface. Go like this, man.

[Mary J. Blige]

Excuse me.

[Fat Joe]

We seeing.

[Joe Budden]

Another one. 1, 2, 3. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, Mary Happy birthday to you Aw, that's a nice cake right there.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's a beautiful cake.

[Joe Budden]

Beautiful cake.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you, guys.

[Joe Budden]

Happy birthday. We love y'. All.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you. Joe and Jada show. Thank you so much.

[Fat Joe]

Tell them how big is this show right here. America don't front. You be watching this shit. Love y'.

[Sponsor Voice]

All.

[Mary J. Blige]

Maybe, like, it is massive. Oh, I gotta hold it.

[Fat Joe]

Hold up.

[Joe Budden]

Barge.

[Fat Joe]

Two time a felon. Two time a felon.

[Mary J. Blige]

The show is massive, man. This is legend. How you say legend?

[Joe Budden]

Oh, that's it.

[Fat Joe]

Legend.

[Joe Budden]

This shit is huge.

[Fat Joe]

Nah, we love you, man. We got you. You are actually first show on Netflix.

[Mary J. Blige]

Really? And congrats on the Netflix. Congrats on getting to the bag. Bag, Bag.

[Fat Joe]

You know, I delivered on my promise. You know, my business partner was looking at me, he was like, yo, Joe, what's up with the bag? I said, yo, don't worry, y'. All. We gonna get that bag. We gonna get the legendary. We gonna smoke him out. He said, yo, Joe, but what's up? He start getting antsy, and God came with the, you know, Netflix type of shit, you know what I'm saying? So we gotta do the ass Mary. We like this disrespect up to the knees. I want these guys to hurry up and quit. Up to the knees. I want these guys to quit already. Like everybody in podcast land.

[Joe Budden]

Give it up.

[Fat Joe]

Throw the and go. Go retire. This different right here. It's that real right here. You see the Louie, you see the Louis, you see the Fendi fur. We. And we ain't even cash one bag in yet. This is rap money.

[Joe Budden]

So fat.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, sis, you love this man. And let me tell you something. I remember Patti LaBelle told me. Because, you know, my favorite singer of all time is Luther. You knew Luther and all that?

[Mary J. Blige]

No, not really. I met him once. Brief, but I didn't know him. No.

[Joe Budden]

Hey, I would have you.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

That's crazy.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

You know, he's from five blocks away from me.

[Joe Budden]

Here we go. Today's yo, my brother. Today's a yo.

[Fat Joe]

I'm with you.

[Joe Budden]

Today's yo. Back to piece to Luther.

[Fat Joe]

Who's the old school lady from yo. The first one that popped off.

[Mary J. Blige]

Oh.

[Joe Budden]

Yo, baby.

[Fat Joe]

I was talking to him about how one day he was like, yeah, I see at the supermarket all the time, like, she really from Yonkers?

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, she living Seven Pines now. She's very.

[Fat Joe]

You sung Rest in Peace, Andre Harrell, right? You sung to him, Anita Baker. So go ahead.

[Mary J. Blige]

Let me tell you this story. So it's okay. You remember the gallery in White Plains, right? Remember, it was a big thing about them getting the karaoke machine heard about.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, they had to.

[Mary J. Blige]

So we went to the mall, and I record, which was my favorite song at the moment, was Caught up in the Rapture. And I recorded Caught up in the Rapture. And I bought the tape home of my mother's boyfriend, who was my stepfather. We called him my stepfather. He worked at General Motors with Jeff Red in Mount Vernon. And Jeff Red was already on. He had. You called and told me Jeff Red gave the tape to Andre Harrell. Andre came Slow Bomb and came up to my house. I sang the whole Anita Baker Rapture album because that was my. My album at the time. Rest is history, you hear?

[Fat Joe]

You know what's crazy, man? Shout out. I don't want to disrespect, but shout out. My. My best friend ever in life. He dead long time, Tone Montana, but he was one of them fly LL Cool J type. He had every girl you wanted from Harlem in the Bronx, but he had this. This chubby girl. And I used to be like, yo, Tone. Cause he had no, no, I'm fat. I'm fat Joe. But he had this girl that didn't fit his normal profile. So we over there sitting in the house and all that Washington projects. I'm like, yo, my man, what's up? He was like, she sing. She used to sing Anita Baker to Tone Bar. He was sitting in his lap, and she was, like, caught up here. Look how she sing to me.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, yeah, she sing to Me, that's what I sing. Caught up in the Rapture. Yeah. Caught up in the Rapture was every hood girl's. You know, we were all wanting to be in love, wanting somebody to love us. And that song just made us melt. It made us think about, you know, the man we wanted. Not to get all mushy, but, you know, I'm a chick.

[Fat Joe]

You had that conversation with Anita Baker. I know I see footage of you performing with her, but you actually told her, you know, like he said, the demo. Right. Yeah. You don't sing Anita Baker. We don't hear Mary J. Blige, as we know.

[Joe Budden]

That's true.

[Fat Joe]

Right, Right.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, it was. It wasn't Caught up in the rapture that put me on to Anita Baker. It was Angel. You're my angel. That's what made me be like, yo, that's what, baby.

[Joe Budden]

Anita Baker.

[Mary J. Blige]

So.

[Joe Budden]

Yes, Angels that shit. Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

Then I fell in love with Anita Bacon, singing her songs every. You know.

[Joe Budden]

Then that eventually led to Baker doing all the stuff she did that led up to do you Remind Me. When you Remind me came out, it was like everybody got hit the honor roll in y'.

[Mary J. Blige]

All.

[Joe Budden]

We. It was like we couldn't hear enough of it. We was still there. So we was going like parties and Slow Mountain Shirley's running.

[Fat Joe]

It was like a hundred times in.

[Joe Budden]

A row basement or the thing. Yeah, we. They playing Back for hours, dog.

[Fat Joe]

Puff Daddy with the drums. So first the drums. The drums. Who put the drums?

[Mary J. Blige]

That was Dave Hall. Dave Hall.

[Fat Joe]

He did the Bismarck is Mark.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's what you remind me is the smoke that I sang over. And he did this keys over the drums. And it was a Strictly Business soundtrack. Remember Business soundtrack? That's the movie. So. So Andre didn't know what to do with because he was looking at me like, okay, she's no Whitney Houston. She's not gonna wear a gown. She looks like a little tomboy. Right? So I was shelved, kind of. But it was Strictly Business. The Strictly Business soundtrack, where you remind me. Red alert. Pulled the song off, put it in the mix show. All the DJs ran with it. And then they introduced me to Hough, who was like, oh, I know exactly what to do with her. And Jodeci was already out. And he was like, she gonna be a female Jodeci. And for the hat, turn backwards. Give us some tough ones, you know?

[Fat Joe]

Cause I ain't gonna lie to men. I hear them germs anywhere I go. I could see the Puff Daddy dance. I knew that diddy bop was with them drums. Like, when I. You know, music is music. It's like a fucking. You know, it take you right to.

[Joe Budden]

He had nothing.

[Fat Joe]

I know about hip hop.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah. He didn't have one thing to do with the drums.

[Fat Joe]

No.

[Joe Budden]

But.

[Fat Joe]

But he. Dave open aesthetics. What she saying, man? Them drums remind me of that Diddy bop that. That, you know, that shit right there. Like, you know, me and her, we battle the wap in the crib. I'm not lying.

[Joe Budden]

I don't even know why you motherfucker challenge her. But I don't even know why you got the gumption that you.

[Fat Joe]

That's one thing we ain't got to convince you much of. If the right music come on, you fucking dancing your ass off in the door, the kitchen. Cause we gotta convince you for everything but that shit right there. That shit. It's a whole thing where we went. What, we went to see Chris Brown.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, y', all, we all went to see.

[Fat Joe]

We walking through the concert and all that. She. I knew that Mary J. Blige don't do shit like that. So she's walking. We gotta walk through the shit. I become her security. When I'm with her, I'm security. So she. I am not the number one object. It's like, all I, like, I will fuck 20 niggas up for her. Like, I gotta. Like, I gotta turn into Joey from the Bronx. When I'm with us. I mean, you know, we had a beautiful time. But I kept fighting with Ralph McDaniels. Cause he had footage of you when you was like, 18 or 19. I think it was in Mount Vernon. It was one of your first shows. And I asked Ralph, I asked Uncle Ralph, I said, yo, Ralph, man. Like, did you. He said, bro, I knew the second I saw her rocked, he was like, that shit turned upside down. He was like, oh, she going. You know, many. You know, the women at your show, they hate men. They hate men. That's a flat.

[Mary J. Blige]

I don't think they hate men. I think they just tired of being hurt. They don't know how to pro process. Like, none of us knew how to process what we were going through with men back in the days. So I don't think they hate them. They just don't know how to, you know, process the hurt that they're going through with men or how to even love themselves out of it, you know? I don't think it's hate for you. I think it's hate for the fact that they don't know what to do. With this feeling, you get what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

Every time I go to your show, it seems like I'm getting stabbed.

[Joe Budden]

A bunch of women in one venue with the same feelings.

[Fat Joe]

Listen, I've been going to her concerts with my wife for 30 years. And she go, I don't know if, you know, she be sniping Joe, my brother Joe here, my sister Joe better do the right thing. I'm like, what the fuck? Chicks from upper deck is throwing glizzies at me. And I'm like, oh, my God. I come over here to get cursed the fuck out. Every Joe, I be like, yo, they like, you gotta be a strong man to take your girl there and stand. And I'm going down. You feel like they. Everybody, I'm going down. It's a decent way of cursing every guy out in the universe. And you sitting in there like, yo, Mary, I love your shit, but why they gotta curse me out? Like what I'm doing wrong? But that empowerment, you know? And it's sad because so many years, me watching you, it's fucked up. But they say, yo, Mary, you know, she gotta be going through some shit so we could get the best work from her. Like, you know, them painful records. And it's fucked up because your biggest songs come from your personal experiences and heartbreaks and tell us about that. When you fucking crush, that's when you do your best shit.

[Mary J. Blige]

I used to think that was the situation, but I think that just like the fans, they can only relate to you from where they are. So I was where I was. So I was sad, I was suicidal. I was crying over some nigga all the time.

[Joe Budden]

And that was very relatable to a lot of the.

[Mary J. Blige]

Exactly. And so I was honestly just given where I was at. So when I sang just fine, I wasn't, you know, just fine. I wanted to be just fine. I wanted to be happy. If you look at my life, I want you to see what I'm living, what I'm going, look at my life.

[Fat Joe]

Take a look at my life.

[Mary J. Blige]

It's just about being relatable and just letting people see where I was, you know, honestly through my music. And I still do the same thing. And I can't please everybody. Oh, I want Mary to be sad again, you know, ho said it best. You want my old music? Go buy my old album, you know, because I can't stage miserable for you guys. But I understand. I totally get it. So where I am right now, you'll get where I'm at right now. But I'm not. I'm not saying, oh, you know, the hell with the girls. That's brokenhearted. Absolutely not. But I can't get with you in certain places anymore. You understand what I'm saying? Without.

[Fat Joe]

I came out of Dr. Rock yesterday. I get on my knee, fucked up. So I get the therapy. I called you with Dr. Rob trying to plug. He called me the hospital name after Dr. Rock. By the way, the fucking building says, doc, I'm taking you to the doctor. Dre are fucking knee and foot doctors. Like, I'm like. But I'm there and I come outside and there's this Cuban dude. And he's always so happy, right? Dark skinned Cuban dude. Oh, fat. You know, I'm half Cuban. Yesterday he was crying. He said, my wife leave me for some guy in Atlanta. Take my two daughters. No, this real shit. And he want Fat Joe to really therapy him. Like, you know, I'm trying to. My wife waiting in the car. I'm trying to get up out of there. He's like, fudge. So I got to sit down with this man that he. Thank God he got the other security at work with him. He was like, yo, Jo, I said, by the way, this guy's fly, too. No pause, whatever you want to say. He ain't no ugly dude. He's fly and he work hard. He said, I work 14 hours a day. Not the point is, I'm trying to make.

[Joe Budden]

What did you tell him?

[Fat Joe]

I'm telling him I had a friend, I don't know, I got to talk him off the ledge, right?

[Joe Budden]

Give us a quick.

[Fat Joe]

I have a friend that they called me one day and said, he's killing himself. His wife cheated on him and said, joe, please come over here, right? So I go over there, yo, my man, you the man. You know, I'm doing whatever I can. You the man. This, this, that. Long story short, he was crying. He's a tough guy. This and this and that. I see him a year later, and the man run up to me, yo, Joe, you won't believe it. I have a new wife. Beautiful Dominican. She's a pastor. She doesn't want to go out. He shows me pictures. Beautiful. This guy was going to kill himself the year before. So I'm telling him, I know heartbreak, no matter male or female, is fucking devastating. Yeah, you could be a man and be crying like that. Man was crying in the middle of his job yesterday. I had to take some time out to talk to him and try to talk him off the ledge. But that's what your music does for women. Men, everybody.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, I was talking to. This was a long time ago. I was talking to a guy and he was like, do you know what's one of my favorite songs? I'm talking about like a drug dealer. Like, nigga. Like, you know, one of those.

[Joe Budden]

One of those.

[Mary J. Blige]

He was like, you know what one of my favorite Mary J. Blige song is? I thought he was like, every day it rains or some shit like that. He was like, I'm going down. I was like, wow.

[Fat Joe]

Him.

[Joe Budden]

Yes.

[Mary J. Blige]

And so in these concerts, there's men singing the song. Like, I'm talking about men. Men. Men singing the songs. Drug dealers.

[Joe Budden]

I mean, construction workers.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. And they said it helped them through. I'm going down. Helped them to sell the. To stay on the corner and sell the drugs that they were selling. And that's. No. I was like, what? I didn't understand it. But after you giving that story just now, everybody, I guess everybody.

[Fat Joe]

Shit.

[Joe Budden]

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[Fat Joe]

Hard Rock Bet, baby. Let's go.

[Joe Budden]

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[Sponsor Representative]

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[Sponsor Voice]

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[Joe Budden]

Here's a quick podcast for all you true crime fans. The case of the missing Reeses. It was me at the store with my mouth motive. Um, they're Reese's. What was I gonna do? Stop myself? Tune in next time to see if I do it again. Spoiler I will. Wow, that had everything. Reese's Suspense Reese's.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Fat Joe]

You know, I got did dirty. Everybody got did dirty. I don't know about anybody else, but I got done filthy. I had a girlfriend, I used to tell her, I hate that dirty dude, Black Dave. I hate Juanito. I hate Chico. I hate this. She fucked all of them when I broke up with her. Every last one of them. Everybody, yo, they was like, yo, Joe, three in the morning calling me. I'm like, yo, what's up? There's she's walking out with White Danny, everybody. I ever told her I didn't like she them all. It's horrible.

[Joe Budden]

It's horrible.

[Fat Joe]

Lucky for me, he was strong. No, no, not strong. I ain't want to be with her. You ever been in a relationship where the guy is talking like, I was in a relationship with a girl that she talking all that hot shit. And the whole time I'm looking at her, I'm like, bitch, I don't even want to be with you. Like I'm sitting there like, huh, what? This one thing when you madly in love, you go through the motions. It's another thing when you checked out already. Usually about that time, women, they making their exit plans. They got their Money they cash they had saved up. They getting the up at they jokes on you guy.

[Mary J. Blige]

You was asking me a question?

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

You ever been with it?

[Joe Budden]

With it is crazy.

[Fat Joe]

You ever been in a situation where the guy's talking all that shit and you looking at him like, yo, I've been done. Like, yep, that crazy.

[Mary J. Blige]

When it's done, it's done. When a person is not giving you peace, it's poison. So you already almost out, you know, now they whack, they ugly. They're not bringing you the things you need. So now they ain't cute no more. Their nose is bigger than what it normally is. Their stomach is fatter than what it is. And so you like, nigga, you whacking ugly. Anyway, this is what you're saying to your mind, I'm out of here. But he's still thinking he hot. I know what you're saying. He's still thinking, yeah, I'm that nigga you like.

[Fat Joe]

If you don't be hello, like, you sitting there like, hello, like, bitch, you on the chopping block right now. Like, you ass started. You better hold on to whatever you got and, you know, salute the guys that had girls, bought them a couple of things and let them leave with their things because this would be some rich niggas that want to keep the bet we got. My man, the fucking Boxer, he sued the girl. He went to federal court. He wanted the Birkins back. The boxer, what's his name? Devin Haney, actually went to court, broke up with his baby moms and was like, yo, I need the Birkin bags back. The earrings, like, come on.

[Joe Budden]

You know, that's why I don't think exactly.

[Fat Joe]

You gotta charge that. Like, that's can't be an Indian guilt.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, no backseats.

[Fat Joe]

Let me tell you something.

[Joe Budden]

Let me keep the bag.

[Fat Joe]

I fought with my wife one time, and I started looking at the diamonds and all the watches. I said, man, she got more money than me. I better stick around. Boy, fuck that. She got the bag right here, like. So, Mary, we a hip hop show. Yeah, run down back in the day, who was some of the favorite records. And I know some of your favorite, but, like, I'll start with rap's New generation. One day, we was talking about hip hop and you was talking about Cessasonic. No, no, Seth's Sonic from Brooklyn Raps. New Generation from the Super Lover C and all them guys there. Casanova Rap Generation. I see you sing the high to heart. How you fall in love with hip hop. And you know what was the first songs that you was part into in the jams. They had the jams. And Yonkers, too.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's how we grew up. Yonkers had a lot of block parties. School 12, remember? School 12 parties? King of school parties. Like, y' all came up behind us, but y' all caught up to, you know, the school 12 parties and the DJs, you know, mixing all the hip hop records. That's how like, they was playing all the samples. Like ufo. Remember ufo, if you don't know. And Nautilus.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

So it was. I fell in love just with the samples, you know. And then it was. Back then, it was like KRS1 was a big deal. Big Daddy Kane was a big deal. Kara's one in. Big Daddy Kane was Yonkers. What? Everybody had the Shazu. Everybody had a Shizuki Jeep. And everybody was running around playing Aggie Raw, like, with the Suzuki. Everybody had. All the drug dealers had.

[Joe Budden]

That's a fact, right?

[Mary J. Blige]

Cotton Moford, everybody. Everybody had some. So it was all about the school 12 parties. And in the summer, the block parties. So the DJs, they put us on, and they put us on to the stuff that they didn't even play on the radio. They put us on to the shit that people be like. How you know that?

[Fat Joe]

Like, if you was a legendary DJ from y'.

[Mary J. Blige]

All.

[Fat Joe]

Cause I'm talking about. He ain't gotta be big time or nothing, but somebody who was rocking them jams. It wasn't Shout out supreme and Hustle.

[Mary J. Blige]

People was coming from out of town to play in DJ shows in. At school 12. I mean, it used to be like you had like, Beat Master, G Beat Master. You had Ricking them. Those guys, they was from Warburton, from Yonkers, and Jericho.

[Joe Budden]

Jericho Divine in them.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. So Yonkers had.

[Fat Joe]

We got it. We got. Right now. They caught that shout out. So Legend, wherever they at that, like, I'm telling you, you got to remember, you know, to me, supreme and Hutch. Supreme and Hutch put me on.

[Mary J. Blige]

We.

[Fat Joe]

We had the best block parties in supreme and Hutch. Their mother was called Mother Earth. And Mother Earth would sit behind the ropes and they'd be like, back up from the ropes, Mother Earth. They'll stop the fucking music for an hour. Talking about back up. Mother Earth got up. Nah, they was, you know, they was in power and they was rocking. And that's how we learned all the hip hop shit. So KRS1 and Big Daddy eras one.

[Mary J. Blige]

Big Daddy came, he was hitting them up. Houdini was Houdini was big too, Will. Five minutes of funk, like skating rings gave us a lot of good hip hop.

[Joe Budden]

There was a skating ring in wild called Wills.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yep, Wheels was a big deal. And then when we all got old enough to run to Harlem and all these other places we was running to, there was the Red Zone, there was the Octagon, the Tunnel, the Red Parrot. I was too young for the Red Parrot, but I heard.

[Fat Joe]

Me too. I was.

[Mary J. Blige]

I heard a lot about. But I was in the Red Zone. I was in the Tunnel, I was in the Octagon and somewhere else. Remember Spy? The Spy Club? The Spy. Was it called the Spy Club?

[Fat Joe]

Well, anyway, I remember that one. I remember the one. What was that? Club usa. They built the club. They spent so many millions. That's the night I seen Biggie came up to me. He pulled out the gun in the shit. He said, you seen DJ Clue? I said, I ain't seen it. He just kept going. I just saw Clue. I just saw Clue. He had the hammer in his shit. He had a vest. He was like, yo, just crack. You seen Clue? I said, nah, I didn't see him. Clue just walked by.

[Joe Budden]

He saved his life. What legend.

[Mary J. Blige]

It was mixtapes too. So I got put onto the Jungle Brothers through a mixtape. Straight out the Jungle outfit. That's one of my favorites. Like, I know every word for word for word.

[Fat Joe]

Two blue brothers. I was selling drugs to the Jungle Brothers. Like I'm in the corner watching Move with the box playing Jungle Brothers Jungle. I remember that.

[Joe Budden]

That was that.

[Mary J. Blige]

That straight out the jungle. I know the whole.

[Joe Budden]

Like that.

[Mary J. Blige]

Wow.

[Fat Joe]

They was legendary, the Jungle Brothers. Yeah, and they had that.

[Mary J. Blige]

That was a whole. That was the Yonkens anthem right there. Jungle Brothers. JB for short. A bite, a bit more.

[Joe Budden]

And we almost fought.

[Mary J. Blige]

So I let him go. I let him. Run along, run along.

[Joe Budden]

Shit.

[Fat Joe]

You know, I'm listening to the radio. It's your birthday, so I don't know if you know. Cause you was out here moving, working and promoting the residency. But I heard Smith and Wesson on the radio. And they told that story how that I Shine, you shine came about and they said they was in the club with, I guess you, Puff. They invited them back to the studio and they said they jumped on the joint and that's what they said on the radio. You remember that?

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, I don't remember being in the studio with Smith and Wesson. I don't remember that. But I do remember Puff bringing it back to me with them on it. And they was one of my favorites at the time. When I heard them on, I just. I went crazy. I was like, we gone.

[Joe Budden]

That's just class.

[Mary J. Blige]

We are, you know, that was it right here.

[Fat Joe]

Now I know everybody's gonna be watching. I said it earlier to myself. Buckshot, shorty, goat, he'll go. Buckshot shorty, duck down. Buckshot shorty. A goat by far.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Like, I'm. Like, I'm ready to put him as a goat. Like one of the greatest of all time. And I don't think we ever talk about him like that. But the shit, man, just have to be. I listen to that and he still goes in my blood. When the when.

[Mary J. Blige]

Flows and the other ones come Something, something, come follow me Something, something.

[Joe Budden]

I just seen a rock is crazy.

[Mary J. Blige]

My what's the 411 album is narrated by that.

[Fat Joe]

We gotta pull that Fendi fur down.

[Joe Budden]

I see them rock all of them joints.

[Fat Joe]

Louis fur down. Oh, that's for they ass. Mary threatened me, right? That's crazy. We had her birthday party and I pull up and she's like, you better come with that shit on when I come. Cause I'm coming. And I said, damn. I rethought the whole shit. I still went in the closet, really calculated this. I said, man, I gotta come with some Fendi first. Some other. Cause she come through. You never dress whack. If you come to my house, from the supermarket, from anywhere, you fresh to death.

[Joe Budden]

Shut that shit off.

[Fat Joe]

Like, even in the hat. Like, on a regular day, if you come on a regular. Regular of all days, you got that shit on. What is fashion to you? And I know why I brought up Luther Vanjos. But before you answer that, I'm going to tell you why. Patti LaBelle told me Luther Vandross had a closet with couches and TV in there. And if you go visit him in his house, he puts you in the closet and starts showing. Yo, this that Schiaparelli. Yo, this that one of one Balmain this that. I think for all my years of following Mary J. Like, your closet gotta be fucking ridiculous.

[Mary J. Blige]

It's insane. And I can't even find half of the stuff that I wore through the years. Like, it's just. And it's still crazy. I wish I could find all of that stuff that I was wearing.

[Fat Joe]

What do you mean? Like the stolen missing or. No nigga stole my thing.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, yeah. Do you still got the army coat from float your.

[Fat Joe]

Nah, but I got an army coat. I almost wore that shit just on the regular. Just outside today. Now I got Motherfucking Laura piana. Army coats, 9,000 to the jack, but go ahead. Well, when you move, they stole your shit.

[Mary J. Blige]

Now, when you.

[Fat Joe]

Was it burned down in a chimney fire?

[Mary J. Blige]

Nah, a lot of it probably is stolen because, like, I don't know where it was at, but when you're moving, you just. Things just get lost in everywhere. And then, you know, you get. I gave a lot of stuff away. Like, here. Just take it. And, you know, I wish I didn't, but that's what happened.

[Fat Joe]

That's crazy. Cause Lorena gave mad shit away that now's the style. Now we bond it again. Because as he liked the shit, this is the vintage. She was like, I had that in every color. I gave it out. This, this, that. Everything coming back, everything.

[Joe Budden]

The residency, you're doing it different. You're gonna have actors in theater.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Hamilton.

[Mary J. Blige]

It's called My Life. My life story. So I'm definitely gonna use some actors and actresses to tell the story. You know, it ain't gonna be like a bunch of acting. Like, you know, it's gonna be a Mary J. Blige show with little bits of, like, things involved to pull on your memory from interviews that I've done. You'd be like, oh, wow. I remember she said that. And, you know, I remember she said this was that. So it'll be B sides, like, songs that, like, there's a lot of songs I never really perform. So the B sides that we're picking. Oh, my God.

[Fat Joe]

No, we want that. Like, that was the number one question. I went around and hustled ear. Hustle a couple of women. And I was like, what should I ask Mary? Because, you know, we would choose. Well, thank God. I'm blessed to be with Mary J. Blige all the time. And let me tell you something. I don't take you for granted. I know you the queen. You run shit. I asked a couple of people, and they always like, is she gonna do the songs? We never see her perform at the residency.

[Mary J. Blige]

Wait till they hear what I'm.

[Joe Budden]

Buy your ticket and you.

[Mary J. Blige]

You know, you. I'll be coming, but you're not gonna be coming for the normal things. All right, we got. So do you want to tell a story?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

When they hear about that. Can't get you off my mind how we had that message first. You and Style, y' all was on the record that Rodney did. Can't get you. We had that. We had that first.

[Joe Budden]

That's a fact.

[Mary J. Blige]

We had that first.

[Joe Budden]

That's a fact.

[Mary J. Blige]

And Ronnie just told the story. So I'm going to tell it again. The record was a monster. Before we even got it out. Smash, they killed it. Everybody was excited, and it was the message. Rodney's mixing the record or something like that. Before Rodney, he said. When he said he was going to mix the record at. He said that some people was coming. I want to say who it is. I said, don't play it for him. He played it for him. Two weeks later, the whole sample gone.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, I just told you about the shit off the air.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's the game. That's why I don't tell nobody nothing. I keep everything to myself.

[Fat Joe]

So anyway, I just told him one of our best friends on Earth. I never told this shit publicly. I played him a record. Two weeks later, we had an identical twin floating in the air. And I was like, jesus Christ. I couldn't. To this day, he's one of my best friends. I never even had the courage to tell him, yo, you know, you jack my y', alla, you know what I'm saying? I play him a record. He just, I, you know, this the game, huh?

[Mary J. Blige]

You got something hot, and it's still the game. If you got something hot, don't tell nobody.

[Joe Budden]

Keep it tough.

[Mary J. Blige]

I don't care what it is.

[Fat Joe]

Don't tell them nothing, man, that's lifestyle. I think Khaled taught me that. Like, I be next to Khaled and he don't tell me nothing. Next day, I look at TV as a Colgate commercial. I'm like, damn, this motherfucker don't even let me know where the bag had or nothing. I'm like, but you got to protect your blessings. You got to protect. You know where you going. Because these people move on your shit. It was a lot of people got upset that we got the Netflix deal and we didn't tell nobody what we was doing. And so when they saw it, they was like, oh, shit. Like, yo, y' all could have gave us a heads up. How about nobody feeds us and nobody pay our bills? So we gotta do what we gotta do. We gotta protect our blessings. I understand what you're saying. You can't play shit for nobody, not even the best. I'm talking about our best friend, almost the most loyalist dude I know in the world. He heard my shit, he went back, yo, look what I did.

[Joe Budden]

I was like, foul play, foul play. Out of all the success, you got all the accolades. This, that, this. As he say, I stole this, this, that, this. You gotta have the most in history of your music played in the house. While the house is getting clean. I'll put you against any other artist on the planet.

[Mary J. Blige]

Really? Not Chaka Khan?

[Joe Budden]

You want to get a good house cleaning?

[Fat Joe]

I think they play you more than the Thor will. Surprise. Oh yo, my aunt and moms would.

[Joe Budden]

Play that shit to the I go. The shit was.

[Fat Joe]

The shit was melting, bro. We live on the fifth floor, we in front of the building playing. We hit em for 10 hours straight. I will survive. Oh no, no, no. I don't even know what the shit mean. I'm a little kid. I don't even know what the fuck they singing about. I kiss and that candy statin.

[Mary J. Blige]

Oh, I'm a victim. My mother played the hell out of that record and I didn't know why until I got older. I mean the lyrics is. Well for women. So I guess that would be the equivalent to I will survive. And now my music is I will survive. Yeah, it's the same thing, you know, same women empowerment songs.

[Fat Joe]

I want you to tell me about getting Jon Jay Z's first album. Did you know he was gonna be the guy or did you know? How did that come about? I heard you say it before, but I want it for the audience. Cause this is a hip hop. Yeah, they tuned in.

[Mary J. Blige]

I didn't know that he was gonna be what he was, but I knew my girl. So my girlfriend Michelle, who's still my girl to this day, we both were friends with Dame Dash. I knew Dame since Slobon and Michelle was like, yo, you know Dame Dash? I was like, yeah. They was like this guy and Jay Z's about to do a record and they want you on. I was on the My Life album and I was like, bet. So I showed up to the studio, they gave me the money in a brown bag, like a brown paper bag.

[Fat Joe]

Still had some yalla, some residue on that. Still had the yalla on there.

[Mary J. Blige]

We didn't mind doing business. I didn't mind doing business like that back then. I was like, whatever. I was still actually mentally in slow bomb, you know. So I took the money, went in the studio, Irv was there, did the verse and that was it. It wasn't no big deal. It was just going to be deal.

[Fat Joe]

With hip hop history.

[Joe Budden]

Time to classic.

[Mary J. Blige]

You see how it happened? You know, it was on some street shit, but here we are.

[Joe Budden]

It was a drug deal with no.

[Mary J. Blige]

Drugs, legal drug money.

[Joe Budden]

It was illegal drug deal.

[Sponsor Representative]

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[Joe Budden]

A quick podcast for all you true crime fans. The Case of the Missing Reeses it was me at the store with my mouth Motive. Um, they're Reese's. What was I gonna do? Stop myself? Tune in next time to see if I do it again. Spoiler I will. Wow, that had everything Reese's Suspense Reese's.

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[Fat Joe]

You know it's impossible, right, to figure it out with all the records. I think your biggest is family affair with Dr. Dre. That was with who else that like.

[Joe Budden]

Who else is on there?

[Fat Joe]

Jason Moi. Hey, hold up. As Mayor Zamdami would say, J to the Moi, Jason. Sylvester Stallone. That motherfucker gave you about 62 names.

[Joe Budden]

He better pick up my call when I call for him, when I need some help.

[Fat Joe]

That family affair. You hear the beat? I mean, y' all had a ball. I see that. Yo, Latonya, you all in that fucking video, huh?

[Mary J. Blige]

It was a film. It was a family affair.

[Fat Joe]

Family affair. I get it. What was that like when they played you that? Dr. Dre's still the guy I never worked with. I'm trying to get something a crumb or save a little piece for later.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, let me tell you the story. And Don Poole had a lot to do with this, because Don Poole was my A and R at the time.

[Joe Budden]

Okay?

[Mary J. Blige]

Shout out to Uzo Geffen.

[Joe Budden]

Geffen Records is one of those in Miami.

[Mary J. Blige]

And so Don Pool. Don Pool bought me the actual track. Now I'm a hardcore hip hop head. All I'm doing is singing over hip hop loops. And he brings me bim bim bim, bam. Didn't understand it. So Don Pooh was like, oh, man. And then he goes and he gets in the studio with my brother, shout out to bz. And then he's like, yo, Mary, I think you really need to come down to the studio and, you know, rethink this. So I had to snap out of, you know, records crackling and singing over hip hop moves for a second to try something new. I said, let me go and see what this is about. So we get in the studio, we start writing the song. My brother had already wrote some of the song. And so I Recorded it. Once I recorded the song, I was like, oh, okay, we might have something. So I sent it to Dre once we finished it, right? I sent it to Dre. Dre was like, nah, I need something. It needs something. He was like, it needs a bridge. And I was like, it don't need a fucking bridge. And I was going crazy, acting like the savage that I was. And he was like, if you don't do a bridge, I'm gonna take my name off it. I said, okay, I wanna do the bridge. So I went and wrote the bridge, killed the bridge, sent it to Dre.

[Fat Joe]

He was, what's the bridge again? What's the bridge?

[Mary J. Blige]

We don't need no haters. We're just trying to love one another.

[Fat Joe]

No more jobbers. Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

And all of that. That was me.

[Fat Joe]

I got the words right.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank. And the rest is history. The song was so big. I was on tour, and we had this bus driver who was this big white and, you know, like, bluegrass, country music listening. And he would keep the station on the bluegrass station. And I came up. I came up there to talk to him one day, and Family Affair was on. I was like, yo, what station is this? He was like, that's my station. This is my song. I said, what?

[Fat Joe]

This is my song. You like, that's me.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's when I realized. I said, oh, my God. I'm. I'm a. I'm a huge star. That's when I realized.

[Joe Budden]

I'll tell you the good part and the bad part of me being on the show. Me being on is a blessing and beautiful now when it comes to going on and do a show, when they call me, it's the last song.

[Fat Joe]

You know how that Ashanti do that shit to me all the time. Ashanti do that shit to me all the time. Be like, song eight eighteen. Yes, bro. Song eighteen. I'm sitting there.

[Joe Budden]

No, this is the last. She got three pages of souls. I got the last, very last one at the Fine prick.

[Mary J. Blige]

Everybody's wasted at that point.

[Fat Joe]

You know what? I gotta throw a flag for that one because you've been doing Jadakiss dirty with the last song.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, it ain't I throw a flag now.

[Mary J. Blige]

Fab and Kiss. Fab is on it, too. Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Fab is on Family on the remix.

[Joe Budden]

Spiz on there.

[Fat Joe]

Wow. You like working a lot with Fab? Like, what's that? We already noticed Yonkers top 5. Did it or lie.

[Mary J. Blige]

But you. You know what it is?

[Joe Budden]

Chemistry.

[Mary J. Blige]

Fab is great chemistry, but he's also a Good person and a really good friend. Like, I deal with people, I go where I'm celebrating. You know, I hear fab. You know, stay less queen, you know, just pay for the ground. You gotta give me nothing else. You know, I'm coming. Kids, your family, nothing. This is my family. And I only really deal with Jadakiss and Fabulous when it comes because they really support me. I hate to go begging. Biggest for your wife.

[Fat Joe]

Can I get a verse?

[Mary J. Blige]

I'm not begging for no verse.

[Joe Budden]

My phone turned red. That's Mary gotta come through.

[Fat Joe]

You ever heard her talk like a guy? You ever called her from a number she don't know? And she be like, yo, what's up? She's the greatest ever made. I'm telling you the truth. Throw a flag.

[Mary J. Blige]

What the fuck?

[Joe Budden]

Why would I call her from a number that she don't know?

[Fat Joe]

For what?

[Joe Budden]

For two, what kind of pranks you doing over here?

[Fat Joe]

On your feet, Mary Kay Blige. And I'm like, yo, what's up, sis? Yo, what's up? What's going on out here? Who you talking to? This, this, that. Every like, yo, it's Joe Crack. Oh, Joey. What's up? You the best. All right, let's just say I call you right now from a block number. Right now. Block number. Yo, what's up, sis? What's going on? Yo, what's going on? Before I say my name, how would you answer the phone?

[Mary J. Blige]

You.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, what's up, Joe? Yo, that crazy. You got me thinking you changed the number. Like, yeah, Joe Crack was. Yo, Joe, what's up? Oh, yeah, there you go.

[Mary J. Blige]

I had to find. Look, after I got that divorced, I had to find another voice. Cause people was calling me from all different kind of shit and wasn't who they was. So I had to find another voice.

[Joe Budden]

You gotta do the deep. It's the screen. Yo, yo, what's up? Yo.

[Fat Joe]

Let me tell you something, man. You know, we over that divorce shit and all that. Because we over it. Your new man is. Well, not new man. Is he a mystery man still?

[Mary J. Blige]

Is he a mystery man to you?

[Fat Joe]

Not to.

[Mary J. Blige]

No, no. Yes, yes.

[Fat Joe]

I was at the birthday party and I was dancing by. That motherfucker looked like GQ Enterprise.

[Mary J. Blige]

Joe, listen to what I'm saying.

[Fat Joe]

They was doing that shit. I said, yo.

[Mary J. Blige]

Joe, let me explain something to you. To the world, he's a mystery man. But to my family and friends, he's not. So we're not doing that.

[Joe Budden]

Cause make some noise for that. Protect your peace. Protect your peace.

[Fat Joe]

You know? With me. They try to give me so many bags to be on TV with my family. And I always said no. Cause I know I wouldn't have a relationship after a TV show. Cause everybody be in your business, they got something to say. Shit that's probably normal to you or to my wife would be. They be like, oh, he ain't shit. Cause soon as you know, I don't know about you, but as soon as I lock that door, close that door. I say some slick shit on the way out. Like, you know, words. All right, man. Yo, no problem. Close the door. They catch that on camera, my head will be on a pike on one of them Game of Thrones. Yo, check this out. Today I'll be true King in the North. Joey Snow. What on, like, I'm the true king of Joey Snow. The King of the North.

[Joe Budden]

King of the North.

[Fat Joe]

The King of the. Joe Snow came in that cocaine shit. You ain't doing that. That ain't that. This ain't this unit.

[Mary J. Blige]

Joe, let me ask you a question.

[Fat Joe]

Yes.

[Mary J. Blige]

Where did you meet me for the first time?

[Fat Joe]

I don't know. I know I was.

[Joe Budden]

Was it in the Bronx?

[Mary J. Blige]

Can I tell you?

[Fat Joe]

Well, I know I was stabbing somebody. The last person who asked me this, she was like, yeah, I saw you stabbing the guy when you. I was like, oh, my God.

[Mary J. Blige]

Want me to tell you?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

I don't know if it was your first movie, but it was Prison Songs, my first movie. And you came up to me, you like, joe, I fucked somebody up over you. You was going off, and I was like, yeah, Fat Joe loves me. He's gonna protect me. And that was the first time I ever met you, and you was still this beautiful person.

[Joe Budden]

I was supposed to be the kid you had a fight with or Q Tip or one. I was supposed to be in prison.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, we had a ball. It was in the Bronx, too. We shot that shit all in the.

[Joe Budden]

Somehow always makes it back to the Bronx.

[Fat Joe]

I'm not trying to say it was just the Bronx, but it was the Bronx. You know what I'm saying? That was a fun time for me. I finally got my cheekbone in the movie. Like, I had been on, like, two, three movies before that. I don't. I don't know. Was I like. And they got no pause, you know, I never had a real role. That was the first time I had, like, a real role. Yeah, fun. I see that shit to this day. I spoke to Q Tip yesterday, so.

[Joe Budden]

With the God shout out, Q10, definitely. We need you all here.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, no, he gonna come. He's an eclectic friend. Special.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. Q Tip's family.

[Joe Budden]

That's it.

[Mary J. Blige]

And the movie was. I carried the whole movie. I played the mother, and that was. This shit was horrible. Like, when I look back, like, oh.

[Fat Joe]

I never want to see this again. Nah, that's. That was some real ghetto.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. Low budget.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, sis, this residency, we flying out to Vegas, I love you was on. Sherry, you said, they. She said, any guests. You said the whole New York coming was facts.

[Mary J. Blige]

But the whole New York is coming, it seems like.

[Fat Joe]

Listen, they gotta buy them tickets. If you gotta stay 17 in the hotel, room 17 people go do it. Whatever you gotta do.

[Joe Budden]

Y' all gotta go out there, get your tickets.

[Fat Joe]

You gotta go out there, get your tickets. 25th anniversary. Correct.

[Mary J. Blige]

No more drama.

[Joe Budden]

No more drama.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, no more drama. 25th anniversary.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Listen, okay, we happy for everybody, but sometimes I see some rappers I started with, they missing teeth, you know? One day they snuck me in in the old school at noon.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, what happened?

[Joe Budden]

Don't do that to your colleagues, man.

[Fat Joe]

One day they paid me the bag, and I don't know how they afforded me at an old school at noon. And they threw the real bag, right? So I pull up in there, and I'm looking at other legends. They dancing around, Hennessy bottles, no teeth. This. I'm like. I closed the door. Like, what the fuck? They caught me in one of these old school at noon. I'm opening the door. These are legends, too. Like, hard to tell how you talking about them? What year you started? No, no, they legends. Well, what year you started? Your first record came out?

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, my first. First record came out. I was still in Slow Mob. And that was the Father mc. I'll do for you facts. I wasn't signed nowhere.

[Joe Budden]

We felt like we made it off. That crazy me.

[Mary J. Blige]

Looking back, I'll still run around at Molford and Cottage and Flow while I'm in school. I was still deep, still young, still.

[Joe Budden]

In the hood, man.

[Fat Joe]

Man, let me tell you something in them Uptown Records, right? Cause I today, you know, I was getting a massage, shout Out Simone, my therapist. And, you know, I play that R B in the back, and they play some Al B. Shore shit that I never heard. He was on YouTube and the shit came on and I was like, yo, that's Albie Shore. And I look up, sure enough, it was him. Like, at that time in Uptown Records, it's you, Father mc, Heavy B and Du Bois.

[Joe Budden]

Jodeci.

[Mary J. Blige]

Jodeci.

[Fat Joe]

Christopher Williams.

[Mary J. Blige]

Just us.

[Fat Joe]

How crazy was that? Cause we look at the Jungle Brothers and we think about De La Soul, Latifah, Monie Love, like that right there. If y' all did a show together like on TV, that would be like the Motown 20. Like, I don't think nobody fucking with that.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, I forgot about De La Soul. Sorry, I forgot to mention them, too. Like back in the days that we grew up on them too.

[Joe Budden]

We was hearing a lot of De La.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, the buddy buddy was a big deal, but yeah, that'd be crazy.

[Fat Joe]

Listen, sis, we want to keep you for 50 hours, but they saying, I.

[Joe Budden]

Know she got to promote man residency. My life. I would say the other part.

[Mary J. Blige]

My life, my life story.

[Joe Budden]

My life. My life story. Vegas. Get your ticket.

[Fat Joe]

I hustle.

[Joe Budden]

Call me. Definitely don't call lt. Don't call us. Get your tickets.

[Fat Joe]

This ain't that.

[Joe Budden]

That ain't this cracking kiss. Make some noise for mjb.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank y'.

[Sponsor Voice]

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[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you for having me. Thank you.

[Fat Joe]

We love you, mj.

[Mary J. Blige]

Love you. Love both y'.

[Sponsor Representative]

All.

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[Mary J. Blige]

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[Mary J. Blige]

Fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your.

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[Mary J. Blige]

We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. Being a small business owner isn't just.

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[Mary J. Blige]

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[Mary J. Blige]

Learn [e-mail] business chase for business make more of what's yours the Chase Mobile.

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[Mary J. Blige]

JP Morgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC Copyright 2026 JPMorgan Chase Co. Running a.

[Sponsor Voice]

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