For the first time in more than a decade, Mary J. Blige is recording as a single woman, as her divorce with Kendu Isaacs, her husband of nearly 13 years, is quietly and currently underway.
Which means fans can get an extra dose of reality from the heartwrenching tunes she’s carved out a legacy crafting.
Her latest record, “Thick of It,” co-written by none other than Jasmine Sullivan, builds off of that legacy and according to the Queen herself, it addresses much of what fans assume it does.
“This song is so personal it’s almost painful to let it out. I don’t hold back though, it’s not who I am and there’s no way I am going to start changing now,” Blige, 45, said in her press release. “We all deal with love and the emotions that we get tangled up in, and we gotta survive, grow and remain honest to our best selves,” she says. “I feel that with this song and it’s the first one off this album I’ve been immersing myself in for 2 years now. Music just saves me no matter what in life is happening.”
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Over the slow-burning ballad, Blige croons “Who’s gonna love you like I do / Who will you trust / I gave you too much / Enough is enough / Now we’re in the thick of it.”
The single is slated to premiere on her upcoming thirteenth studio album, Strength of a Woman via Capitol Records. While the project has yet to have birthed a formal release date, come this November, she will embark on the King and Queen of Hearts Tour opposite Maxwell.
Check the dates down below.
November 5: Baltimore, MD / Royal Farms Arena
November 6: Washington, DC / Verizon Center
November 9: Philadelphia, PA / Wells Fargo Center
November 10: New York, NY / Madison Square Garden
November 12: St. Louis, MO / Scottrade Center**
November 14: Toronto, ON / Air Canada Centre
November 16: Cleveland, OH / Quicken Loans Arena
November 18: Detroit, MI / The Palace of Auburn Hills
November 19: Indianapolis, IN / Bankers Life Fieldhouse**
November 20: Memphis, TN / FedEx Forum
November 22: Charlotte, NC / Time Warner Cable Arena
November 23: Richmond, VA / Richmond Coliseum
November 25: Atlanta, GA / Philips Arena**
November 26: Greensboro, NC / Greensboro Coliseum
November 29: Miami, FL / AmericanAirlines Arena
December 1: New Orleans, LA / Smoothie King Center
December 2: Dallas, TX / American Airlines Center
December 3: Houston, TX / Toyota Center**
December 6: Los Angeles, CA / The Forum
December 7: Oakland, CA / Oracle Arena
December 9: Las Vegas, NV / T-Mobile Arena
December 11: Bossier City, LA/ CenturyLink Center
December 12: Kansas City, MO / Sprint Center
December 14: Chicago, IL / United Center
