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

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: Joe and Jada - Mary J. Blige on "My Life, My Story" Residency, Dr. Dre & Jay-Z Stories & Her Biggest Hip Hop Influences
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Guests: Mary J. Blige
Hosts: Fat Joe, Joe Budden (Joe and Jada Show)

---

Episode Overview

This episode celebrates the legendary Mary J. Blige, reflecting on her storied career, her upcoming "My Life, My Story" Las Vegas residency, formative hip hop influences, classic collaborations with Dr. Dre and Jay-Z, and the deep bonds she shares with Fat Joe and Joe Budden. With warmth, humor, and nostalgia, Mary and her hosts dive into personal stories from coming up in Yonkers, music industry lessons, heartbreak, friendship, and the roots of hip hop culture.

---

Key Topics & Insights

1. Las Vegas Residency: "My Life, My Story"

• Mary’s Excitement & Approach
  • The Vegas residency marks a pinnacle in Mary’s career: “At this point in your career, this is where you're supposed to be...you go to Vegas, you sit there...then you go to the place.” (05:31)
  • She reveals the show will feature theatrical elements and stories from her life: “It's called My Life. My life story. So I'm definitely gonna use some actors and actresses to tell the story...” (37:40)
  • Promises rare B-sides and deep cuts fans haven’t seen live before: “There's a lot of songs I never really perform. So the B sides that we're picking...oh my God.” (38:12)
• Hosts' Enthusiasm
  • Fat Joe jokes about renting mansions to see Mary every night, emphasizing the show’s magnitude. (05:53)
  • “The whole world loves you...we can’t over love the whole world.” (04:07)

2. Mary’s Influence, Vulnerability & Relationship With Fans

• On the Connection Through Heartbreak
  • Mary acknowledges fans' desire for “sad Mary,” but stands proud of her evolution:

    “You want my old music? Go buy my old album...where I am right now, you'll get where I'm at right now. But...I can't get with you in certain places anymore.” (18:48)

  • On fan empathy: “They don't hate men, they just don't know how to process the hurt...or how to even love themselves out of it.” (16:24)
• Music’s Universality
  • Both men and women, from all walks of life, turn to Mary’s music in heartbreak:

    “Men singing the songs. Drug dealers...and they said it helped them through. ‘I’m going down’ helped them to sell, to stay on the corner and sell the drugs that they were selling.” (22:18)

  • Parallels drawn between “I Will Survive” and Mary’s own empowerment anthems. (42:18)

3. Mary’s Origin Story & Hip Hop Upbringing

• First Recordings
  • Childhood memories of recording Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” at a mall karaoke booth:

    “We went to the mall, and I recorded...‘Caught up in the Rapture.’ And I bought the tape home...Jeff Red gave the tape to Andre Harrell...Andre came...I sang the whole Anita Baker Rapture album...Rest is history.” (10:31)

• Block Parties & DJ Culture
  • Recollections of Yonkers block parties, legendary DJs, and falling in love with sample-driven music.

    “School 12 parties, king of school parties. DJs, they're playing all the samples...that’s how we grew up.” (29:09)

  • Hip hop foundations: “KRS1 was a big deal. Big Daddy Kane was a big deal. KRS1 and Big Daddy Kane was Yonkers.” (29:32)
• Mixtape Culture & Early Influences
  • Jungle Brothers’ mixtapes, details about local anthems, and shout-outs to classic venues and neighborhood legends. (32:29–33:07)

4. Iconic Collaborations & Industry Stories

a. Jay-Z’s First Album (Reasonable Doubt Collab)

• How Mary Was Involved
  • Mary explains being recruited for Jay-Z’s debut album, paid in cash in a brown bag:

    “Showed up to the studio, they gave me the money in a brown bag...Did the verse, and that was it. It wasn’t no big deal...If you look at it, here we are.” (42:51–43:52)

  • “It was a drug deal with no drugs, legal drug money.” (43:58–44:00)

b. Dr. Dre and "Family Affair"

• Studio Process and Challenges
  • Dre demanded a bridge for “Family Affair,” pushing Mary artistically:

    “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.” (46:11)

    • The bridge: “We don’t need no haters…” (46:38)
  • The track’s impact crossed genres:

    “Family Affair was on...That's when I realized. I said, oh my God, I'm a huge star.” (47:22)

c. Puff Daddy/Diddy & Early Recording Processes

• Origins of “You Remind Me”
  • Shelved for looking like a “tomboy,” but “Strictly Business” soundtrack and DJs got her heard. (13:33)
  • Meeting Jodeci and the birth of the female version. (13:32–14:22)

d. Fab, Jadakiss, and Collaborations

• Mary stresses working only with people who truly support her:

  “I only really deal with Jadakiss and Fabulous...They really support me. I hate to go begging. I’m not begging for no verse.” (48:46–48:57)

5. Personal Growth, Heartbreak, and Moving Forward

• On Outgrowing Relationships
  • “When a person is not giving you peace, it's poison...So now they ain't cute no more. Their nose is bigger...I'm out of here.” (27:10)
• Protecting Her Private Life
  • Keeps her romantic relationships out of the spotlight:

    “To the world, he's a mystery man. But to my family and friends, he's not. So we're not doing that.” (50:43)

• Musings on Fame & Fashion
  • Fashion as part of the Mary J. identity, with stories of closets, lost pieces, and vintage trends coming back:

    “It's insane. And I can't even find half of the stuff that I wore through the years.” (36:24)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

- On not living for past pain:

"You want my old music? Go buy my old album."
– Mary J. Blige (18:48, opening line)

- On the explosion of her hit collaborations:

"It was a drug deal with no drugs, legal drug money."
– Joe Budden & Mary J. Blige on the Jay-Z collaboration (43:58)

- On pain fueling creativity:

"And it's fucked up because your biggest songs come from your personal experiences and heartbreaks..."
– Fat Joe (17:12)

- On connecting with men through her music:

"He was like, 'You know what one of my favorite Mary J. Blige songs is?... I’m going down.'"
– Mary J. Blige (22:03)

- On Dre’s demand for "Family Affair":

"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."
– Mary J. Blige (46:11)

- On protecting blessings and privacy:

“If you got something hot, don’t tell nobody...You got to protect your blessings.”
– Mary J. Blige / Fat Joe (40:13)

---

Significant Timestamps

• Las Vegas Residency Discussion: 05:27–07:02, 37:40–38:42
• Mary’s Early Recording Story (Anita Baker, Andre Harrell): 10:31–11:20
• Heartbreak, Fan Empathy: 16:20–18:48
• Industry Stories – Jay-Z Collab: 42:37–43:58
• Studio Process for “Family Affair”: 45:05–47:20
• Hip Hop Influences / Early DJs: 29:09–32:29
• On Fame, Fashion, and Lost Pieces: 35:38–36:33
• On Protecting Private Life: 50:28–50:43

---

Episode Tone & Takeaways

The episode is rambunctious, warm, celebratory, and rooted in love—both for Mary J. Blige and for hip hop culture itself. Through laughter, teasing, and candor, the hosts and Mary relive pivotal moments, honor their personal struggles and triumphs, and pay tribute to the friendships and musical communities that shaped them.

For fans and newcomers alike, the episode is both a nostalgic journey through hip hop's golden ages and a primer on Mary J. Blige's enduring impact, artistry, and personal strength.

---

End note:
“Thank you for having me. Thank you. Good night.” – Mary J. Blige (57:15)

Transcript

[Mary J. Blige]

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

[Fat Joe]

It's the God. Crack him.

[Joe Budden]

You know who it is. Your boy Jada. 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 because we could be here for hours. When you think of today's guest, you think it's genuine. You think of the queen of Hip hop soul.

[Fat Joe]

I'm not 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]

I 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 notes.

[Fat Joe]

No, no, no. We gotta keep.

[Joe Budden]

You wanna keep going?

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, we gotta keep.

[Joe Budden]

You think of Slow Bomb.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, yes.

[Joe Budden]

You think of. Yo, that's right. You think a yak is hot.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, motherfucker. Mary J, you think a artist, you.

[Joe Budden]

Take a brown eyes, bro.

[Fat Joe]

That's right, De Leon. That's right.

[Joe Budden]

Think of wheels. Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for Mary J. CL 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, if you could make a bag of money. 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. 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. To me, biggest. I wouldn't be here today.

[Mary J. Blige]

My bag is not in here. Right? Because my ring is on. No, that's your shit.

[Joe Budden]

You get the bastard. Your phone can ring like. You can go like a slot machine in Vegas. Your phone can ring all the whole epis. You good?

[Mary J. Blige]

Okay.

[Fat Joe]

Latonya. Listen, that you got on, I see you already got your insurance money from the chimney fire.

[Joe Budden]

Yo, you shooting at me.

[Mary J. Blige]

I said it's crazy.

[Fat Joe]

Insurance fire. You the fastest insurance money I ever seen.

[Joe Budden]

I said my Chimney didn't catch on fire, Nate.

[Fat Joe]

It just.

[Joe Budden]

I had to open your thing. We it.

[Fat Joe]

Our sister is in the building.

[Joe Budden]

It's her birthday. Can we here? 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, 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? 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.

[Joe Budden]

The love, like compassion, however much the world. Lover, I love a little bit over the world. Because I wouldn't really be. You know what I'm saying?

[Fat Joe]

That's 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 Bop 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 his birthday. Happy birthday to lt. We got stuff.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Joe Budden]

I sing it 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, Sherry.

[Joe Budden]

This different level.

[Fat Joe]

You was not fucking around, talking about this residency.

[Mary J. Blige]

I have to. I mean, it's a huge deal. I mean, 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 the place.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Mary J. Blige]

Okay.

[Fat Joe]

Coming, Nicki.

[Mary J. Blige]

I know y' all better come.

[Fat Joe]

I don't know if you know.

[Joe Budden]

Hell, yeah, we gonna beat him. Y' all think we not gonna beat it? Everybody. I don't think you know, when they first announced it the world, it was like, Covid. Yeah. You know about Mary's. My mom even called me Jason. I heard Mary. I said, ma, I got you. Don't worry, Ma, I got you. 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 because 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 of his 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.

[Fat Joe]

Wow. Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

Or the win. Caesars. Or the win.

[Fat Joe]

I don't know. He has to.

[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 into everything. I just pull up.

[Joe Budden]

Hold on.

[Fat Joe]

I went to Monica and brace.

[Joe Budden]

LT don't like to get on camera, but this for Marianne. LT bringing it. Scarface. Go like this, man.

[Mary J. Blige]

Excuse me.

[Fat Joe]

What are you saying?

[Joe Budden]

Come on, lt, man. Another one. One, two, three. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday. Happy birthday to you 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'.

[Fat Joe]

All.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you. Joe and Jada show so much.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Mary J. Blige]

It is massive. Oh, I gotta hold it.

[Joe Budden]

Blow it up.

[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? 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 like. 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. Oh, God, Mary. We like this disrespectful 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. Give it up. Throw the time. Win. Go, go. Retire this shit. Different right here. It's that real shit right here. You see the Louie? You see the Louie? You see the Fendi fur. We know these things. And we ain't even cash one bag in yet. This is rap money.

[Joe Budden]

That's so fact.

[Fat Joe]

Yo, sis, you love this shit, man. And let me tell you something. I remember Patti LaBelle told me. Cause, 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.

[Mary J. Blige]

You? Yeah.

[Joe Budden]

That's crazy.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, I met him.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Joe Budden]

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

[Fat Joe]

No, 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.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, Fonder Ray, man.

[Fat Joe]

Fascist.

[Joe Budden]

She loves baby.

[Fat Joe]

I was talking to him about her one day. He was like, yeah, I see her at the supermarket all the time. Like, she really from Yonkers?

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, she living Seven Pines now. That's. 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?

[Joe Budden]

Yeah, they heard about it. Yeah. They had this.

[Mary J. Blige]

So we went to the mall, and I recorded 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 and 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 album at the time. Rest is history.

[Fat Joe]

You know what's crazy, man? Shout out. I don't want to disrespect, but shout out. 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 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, but 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 seen footage of you performing with her. But you actually told her, you know, like he said, the demo. Right.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

You don't sing Anita Baker. We don't hear Mary J. Blige, as we know. That's true. Right, Right.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, 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 Fabian.

[Joe Budden]

Anita Baker. So, yes, angels that shit. Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

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

[Joe Budden]

You know, then that eventually led to 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. It was like we couldn't hear enough of it. We was still there. So we was going like, parties and slow mound. My aunt Shirley's running.

[Fat Joe]

It was like a hundred times in a row.

[Joe Budden]

The basement or the thing? Yeah, we. They playing back for hours dog Buff.

[Fat Joe]

Daddy with the drums.

[Mary J. Blige]

So first.

[Fat Joe]

I know, but the drums, the drums. Who put the drums?

[Mary J. Blige]

That was Dave Hall. Dave Hall.

[Fat Joe]

He did the Bismarck. Bismarck.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's what you remind me is the song.

[Fat Joe]

Oh, you said the drum.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah, that's the one that I sang over. And he did the keys over the drums, and it was A Strictly Business soundtrack. Remember Business soundtrack? That's the movie. So Andre didn't know what to do with me 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 Huff, 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 back was, 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]

But I know about hip hop.

[Joe Budden]

He just hear us say he didn't have one thing to do with the drums.

[Fat Joe]

No, but. 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. I don't even know why you got the gumption that you brought.

[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 of 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 shit.

[Mary J. Blige]

She.

[Fat Joe]

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.

[Joe Budden]

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, I feel 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 shit. 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 looked 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]

So 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, Hope said it best. You want my old music? Go buy my old album, you know, because I can't stage mythical 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 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 to therapy. I called you with Dr. Rob trying to call me hospital name after Dr. Rock. By the way, the fucking building says Doc. I'm. I'm taking you to the Dr. Dre. A 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. And he's like, fat. So I gotta sit down with this man. Thank God he got the other security at work with him. He was like, yo, Jon. 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. 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.

[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 and that. Long story short, he was crying. He's a, you know, 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 them, 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. 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, nh. 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 going for like every day. It ranges and shit like that. He was like, I'm going down. I was like, wow him.

[Fat Joe]

Yes.

[Mary J. Blige]

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

[Fat Joe]

Men.

[Mary J. Blige]

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, 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]

Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet. We've been rolling with the Hard Rock BET all regular season long. And now Hard Rock Bet is here for what is shaping up to be an incredible playoff run. You know what I love doing with these big standalone playoff games? Same game parlays lock in one matchup at a time and stack your picks. Maybe. The quarterback throws for 250, the running back hits 100, and the tight end punches in the floor first. Touchdown. Hard Rock Bet gives you tons of ways to build your same game parlay, turning big game days into bigger paydays. And if you miss kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting so you're never too late to be in the action. Find a winner or grab that player prop you meant to play and live bet between snaps in just a few easy taps. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet, there's still time for you to get 150 doll and bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet. If it hits, you get not only your winnings, but also an extra 150 in bonus bets. So just because your team may be out of it, that doesn't mean you have to sit on the sidelines this postseason. Between same game parlays, live betting, a can't miss welcome offer, and new promos dropping every day, Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long. That's Hard Rock Bet. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today.

[Fat Joe]

Hard Rock Bet, baby. Let's go.

[Joe Budden]

Payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida. Offered by the Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC and all other states must be 21 and over and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida? Call 188 admitted in Indiana. If someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem, call 1-800-gambling that's in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.

[Fat Joe]

High interest debt is one of the toughest opponents you'll face unless you power up with a SOFI personal loan. A SOFI personal loan could repackage your bad debt into one low fixed rate monthly payment. It's even got super speed since you.

[Joe Budden]

Could get the funds as soon as.

[Fat Joe]

The same day you sign. Visit sofi.compower to learn more. That's s o f I.com p o w e r loans are originated by Sofi Bank. NA Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. 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 dude Black Dave. I hate Juanito. I hate Chico. I hate this. She 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? She's walking out with White Danny, everybody. I ever told her I didn't like, she fucked 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 they money, they cash, they had saved up. They getting the fuck up. They jokes on you guy.

[Mary J. Blige]

You was asking me a question.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah. You ever been with it? With it?

[Joe Budden]

It's 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 shit 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. If you don't leave, hello.

[Fat Joe]

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. Cause 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?

[Joe Budden]

Devin Haney.

[Fat Joe]

Actually went to court, broke up with his baby moms, was like, yo, I need the Birkin bags back. The earrings. Like, come on, come on.

[Joe Budden]

That's why I don't think you gotta charge that.

[Fat Joe]

Like, that's.

[Joe Budden]

Can't be an Indian gill. Yeah. No backseats.

[Fat Joe]

Let me tell you something.

[Joe Budden]

Let me keep the fucking 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 Raps New Generation. One day we was talking about hip hop and you was talking about Setasonic. No, no, that's a Sonic from Brooklyn. Raps New Generation from the Super Lover C and all them guys there. Casanova Rap Generation. I see you sing the harder 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 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. KRS1 and Big Daddy Kane was Yonkers. When everybody had the Shazu. Everybody had a Shazuki Jeep. And everybody was running around playing Aggie Raw, like, with the Suzuki. Everybody had. All the drug dealers had a Suzuki.

[Fat Joe]

That's a fact, right?

[Mary J. Blige]

Cotton, Moford, Riverdale. Everybody had something. 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 onto the shit that people be like. How do 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 Huxley.

[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 Rick in them. Those guys, they was from Warburton, from Yonkers. And Jericho.

[Joe Budden]

Jericho Divine in them.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

So, yeah, 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, supreme and Hutch supreme and Hutch put me on. We get. 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.

[Mary J. Blige]

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

[Joe Budden]

Legendary 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 of. 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]

Anyway, 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. He came up to me. He pulled out the gun in the shit. He said, you seen DJ Clue? I said, I ain't see 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 brother. I was selling drugs to the Jungle Brothers. Like, I'm in the corner watching shit 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. Wow.

[Fat Joe]

They was legendary, the Jungle Brothers.

[Joe Budden]

Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

And they had that. That was the whole. That was the Yonkens anthem right there. Jungle Brother. JB for short. A bite a bit my rhyme.

[Joe Budden]

And we almost fought.

[Mary J. Blige]

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

[Fat Joe]

Shit. 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. 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 it, 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 listened to that and it's 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 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.

[Fat Joe]

Joints Louis fur down. Oh, that's for they ass. Mary threatened me, right? That's crazy. We at 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 ass.

[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, niggas stole my coat.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well.

[Joe Budden]

Oh, yeah. Do you still got the army coat from Flo Jokes?

[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, mother.

[Mary J. Blige]

Well, were you moving?

[Fat Joe]

They stole your shit?

[Mary J. Blige]

No.

[Fat Joe]

When you burn it, 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.

[Fat Joe]

But that's crazy, because Lorena gave mad shit away. That now's the style. Now we bond it again. Cause Azzy 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 doing it different. You're gonna have actors in theater.

[Mary J. Blige]

Yeah. 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, 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. Hustled a couple of women, and I was like, what should I ask Mary? Cause you know, we would. 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 doing Buy your ticket and you, you know, you.

[Joe Budden]

I'll be.

[Mary J. Blige]

But you're not gonna be coming for the normal things 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, Jack, the whole sample gone. Yeah.

[Fat Joe]

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 the 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 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.

[Mary J. Blige]

I don't care what it is.

[Joe Budden]

Don't tell him nothing.

[Fat Joe]

Man, that slice down. I think Khaled taught me that. Like, I be next to Khaled and he don't tell me nothing. Next day, I looked at TV as a Colgate commercial. I'm like, damn, this motherfucker don't even let me know with a bag at 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 put you against any other artist on the planet. Really nothing about Chaka Khan? You want to get a good house cleaning?

[Fat Joe]

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

[Joe Budden]

Play that shit to the shit.

[Fat Joe]

The shit was like. 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 oh, I'm a victim.

[Mary J. Blige]

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 girlfriend, 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 shit. 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.

[Fat Joe]

Studio deal with hip hop history.

[Joe Budden]

Time to flash it.

[Mary J. Blige]

You see how it happened, you know, with some street. But here we are.

[Joe Budden]

It was a drug deal with no.

[Mary J. Blige]

Drugs, legal drug money.

[Joe Budden]

It was a legal drug deal.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Joe Budden]

Who else is on there?

[Fat Joe]

J to the moi. 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 family. 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'm. I never worked with. I'm trying to get something. A crumb. 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, okay? Shout out to Uzo Geffen.

[Joe Budden]

Geffen Records is one of those in Miami.

[Mary J. Blige]

And so Don Pool, Don Pooh 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, bam bam. Didn't understand it. So Don Poole 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.

[Fat Joe]

This ain't.

[Mary J. Blige]

So I sent it to Dre once we finished it, right? I sent it to Dre. Dre was like, nah, I need something. I need 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]

Yeah.

[Mary J. Blige]

And all of that, that was me.

[Fat Joe]

I got the words right.

[Mary J. Blige]

Thank you very much, Dirk. Dog on the plate, 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. It's my song. I said, what?

[Fat Joe]

It's my song. You like? That's me.

[Mary J. Blige]

That's when I realized. I said, oh, my God, 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 come to going on and do a show, when they call me, it's the last song.

[Fat Joe]

You know, Shanti do that to me all the time. Ashanti do that to me all the time. Be like, song 18. Yes, bro. Song 18. I'm sitting there.

[Joe Budden]

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.

[Joe Budden]

That's always. You know what?

[Fat Joe]

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.

[Fat Joe]

It's all flying now.

[Mary J. Blige]

Fab and Kisses. Fab is on it, too. Yeah, on the.

[Fat Joe]

Fab is on family.

[Joe Budden]

On a remix spiz on there. Wow.

[Fat Joe]

You like working a lot with Fab. Like, what's that? We already know that Shonk is top five, dead or alive.

[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 fabulous. You know, say less Queen. You know, just pay for the ground. You gotta give me nothing else. You know, I'm coming. Kiss your family.

[Fat Joe]

Nothing.

[Mary J. Blige]

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 fuck you.

[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'd 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.

[Joe Budden]

Why would I call her from a number that she don't know? For what? For two, what kind of pranks you doing over here?

[Fat Joe]

On your feet, Mary K. 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, 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? That shit crazy. You got me thinking you changed the number. Like, yeah, Joe Crack was. Yo, Joe, what's up?

[Mary J. Blige]

I had to find him. Look, after I got that divorce, I had to find another voice because 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]

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 and all that. Because we over it. Your new man is. Well, not. 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 your birthday party and I was dancing by Cha Da to the. 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, because I know I wouldn't have a relationship after a TV show. Because 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, My. Yo, no proc. Close the door. They catch that shit on camera, my head will be on a pike on one of them Game of Thrones. Yo, check this out. Today, true King in the North, Joey Snow, nigga got that shit on like I'm the true king of Joey Snow. The King of the North. King of the North. The King of the North, Joe Snow came in that cocaine shit. You ain't doing that. That ain't that. This ain't this uni.

[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, yo, 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. Still this beautiful person.

[Joe Budden]

I was supposed to be the kid you had a fight with or Q Tip or Want. 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. 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 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. And it was fun. I see that shit to this day. I spoke to Q Tip yesterday, so. With the God shout out, Q Tip.

[Joe Budden]

Stefan, we need you all here.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Mary J. Blige]

Especially, 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 this shit was horrible. Like, when I look back at it, like, oh, please, I never want to see this again.

[Fat Joe]

Nah, that's. That was some real ghetto shit.

[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, 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 a 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]

That's no more drama.

[Joe Budden]

No more drama.

[Fat Joe]

No more drama. 25th anniversary. 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.

[Joe Budden]

You.

[Fat Joe]

Yeah, you know what?

[Joe Budden]

Don't do that. Teeth 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.

[Mary J. Blige]

This.

[Fat Joe]

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. Look at that.

[Mary J. Blige]

I'll still run around at Mofet and Cottage and Slow while I'm at school. I was still deep, still in the hood, man.

[Fat Joe]

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

[Mary J. Blige]

Just us.

[Fat Joe]

How crazy was that? Because we look at the Jungle Brothers and we think about De La Soul, Latifah, Moni, Love, like that right there. If y' all did a show together, like on TV, that would be like the Motown 24. Like, I don't think nobody fucked him 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 daylight.

[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.

[Mary J. Blige]

I know.

[Joe Budden]

She's 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. Get your tickets.

[Fat Joe]

I hustle.

[Joe Budden]

Don't 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'. All. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Good night.

[Joe Budden]

Love you, mj.

[Mary J. Blige]

Love you. Love both y'. All.