At the moment, it looks like we may be in the final years of Mary J. Blige’s music career, and this is coming from Blige herself.
In an interview with Extra, Blige said, “Right now, I’m definitely gonna do some more acting and I’m definitely gonna retire in, like, five or six years.”
She also noted, “Right now, I’m still doing what I’m doing but not as often as I was doing it because I don’t have to now.” As for what she’s singing about these days, she said, “Mary is singing about life. Life… love… being stable and understanding you can have things like love. You can have a good life.”
Blige has remained relatively active in recent years: Her latest album is 2022’s Good Morning Gorgeous, which followed 2017’s Strength Of A Woman. Notably, she was part of the all-star 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance that also included Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar.
It was also just announced that she’ll be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as part of the 2024 class. After the news was announced, she wrote on Instagram, “Beyond Grateful!!!!!! This is incredible!!! God always has the final say!!!! Thank you to my fans all over the world!!!! Tears of Joy!!!!”