Events

[R&B] Mary J Blige has forged a career in the name of empowerment, unflinchingly hanging out her dirty laundry for all to see, and it’s made her a genre pioneer. Indeed, prior to her 1992 debut, What’s the 411 and especially its follow-up, My Life, such candor was unheard of in modern R&B. Which isn’t to say that women in soul have shied away from singing the blues; it’s just rare that they’ve written the songs from their own personal turmoil in the singer-songwriter tradition. In doing so, Blige set a new standard, blending hip-hop with soul stylings and an unprecedented degree of emotional nakedness — to this day, she has few peers. Out this past spring, Strength of a Woman (Capitol) is a testament to the implied warning: You don’t mess with Mary. The album was written and recorded in the process of her breakup with husband/manager Kendu Issacs, and she spends the disc’s first half in a state of mixed disgust and disbelief before turning the corner to integrity and transcendence around the halfway mark. It’s classic MJB, reinforcing her phoenix-from-the-ashes M.O. which she has miraculously managed to keep fresh all this time. Or maybe it’s just that she does it with such conviction and grace, we have yet to tire seeing Mary rise above. With Blige this summer is Lalah Hathaway, daughter of late soul legend Donny Hathaway, whose gooey-rich lower register she emulates with ease. Hathaway has quietly released just seven albums over 27 years, straddling the lines between modern R&B and jazz; she recorded her 1990 debut for Virgin while still at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Along the way she’s collaborated with an impressive assortment of musical visionaries, including pianist Joe Sample, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Robert Glasper. Her vocal dexterity caught the ears of Snarky Puppy who, together with Hathaway singing lead, snagged a Best R&B Vocal Performance Grammy for their adventurous take on Brenda Russell’s tune, “Something.” She received another Grammy for her cover of her father’s song “Little Ghetto Boy” as well as one for the album it came off of, Lalah Hathaway Live, in 2016 and 2017, respectively. It’s a soulful double whammy like none other when the pair bring Blige’s Strength of a Woman Tour to Shea’s Theatre on Friday, August 4.