Mary J Blige

Mary J Blige, hip-hop/R&B superstar, gives an interview to The Guardian (link from Drudge). In it she tells the story of a childhood that didn't necessarily foster future success. Some points:

• "'[T]hey [her family] were angry, hateful, jealous, ignorant, prideful people. My aunts were very, very mean people.'"
• "She was told by one of these mean aunts...that she'd never finish high school, and she didn't. Any sign of ambition was stamped on, not just by her family but by the wider community."
• "Her relationship with her mother was difficult...[W]as [this] the life she dreamed of for her daughter. 'No, this was her dream. She wanted to do this. It might be that she's living vicariously through me, but I believe she's gotten real bitter about it. It's probably why we've never really got along. Even as a child, she was a little rough on me, because on top of my father leaving, I was singing as a child, and it was what she wanted but she didn't use it. She didn't have the courage to use it.'"
• When she finally met her father..."his focus was all to do with his being a washed-up bass player who never made it, and with her having somehow stolen a march on him."
• On peers in school..."'When you went to school, you'd see the girl with the drug dealer boyfriends. She had everything. You can't even run halfway neck and neck with her, so you get with your group of miserable friends, and you do drugs and you drink...'"

At 17 a karaoke recording she made led to her being signed as a backup singer with Uptown records. By twenty she released her own album. Two years later she received "massive mainstream recognition" with her album My Life.” In spite of this success, Blige turned to drinking and drugs. It wasn’t until the 2001 death of Aaliyah that she gave up both.

Today Blige is a multi-Grammy winning singer, songwriter and producer with several chart-topping hits to her name. She’s collaborated with everyone from Ja Rule to U2. For a poor, inner-city black child to have amounted to so much one might think she’s a living testament to hard work and dedication in the face of adversity, and the opportunities this nation affords to anyone willing to give it their all. That’s why this opinion seems a little odd, if not surprising:

"’The blacker you are, the worse it is for you. If you're mixed, you've got a
shot. If you cater to what white America wants you to do and how they want you
to look, you can survive. But if you want to be yourself, and try to do things
that fit you, and your skin, nobody cares about that. At the end of the day,
white America dominates and rules. And it's racist.’"

So let me get this straight. You’re born with nothing and rise to stardom. You do this via a musical-genre originated by blacks but equally as popular with whites. Somehow, though, you feel as if your success results from catering to white America. Now, let’s say you did “do things that fit you” (I’m not really sure if she’s talking about herself or other black artists). Would that be to say that if white Americans didn’t like it they’re somehow racist? If black Americans’ distaste for “acting white” is excused, why is it that white Americans are racist for simply not liking music from black performers? Like it or not, the music industry is a business. Any good business knows that targeting the largest and most profitable market is a wise strategy. In the United States, whites, for better or worse, constitute the largest market there is (though it’s certainly debatable that any business could simply target “whites”). So if a business goes after the biggest market, that’s racist?

Ultimately, though, Mary J Blige still feels that even though she grew up with no family or community support and turned to drugs even after her success but continues to be a chart-topping performer, she’s a black woman in a racist nation. If that’s how things really are, I’d happily be the subject of racist attitudes any day.