It looks like the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul is going to make it. For years, she endured a succession of bad relationships and addictions. She was the rare singer who could turn her pain into music that let the fans know just what she was feeling. Even at her lowest, Mary gave it to you straight.

Now she's finally found happiness, and her latest album The Breakthrough, explains that joy with a poetic bluntness, too. Her two-year-old marriage to record producer Kendu Isaacs is responsible for the verve in Mary's voice as she belts out the hit ballad "Be Without You," or hits the ecstatic heights only scaled by Aretha on "I Found My Everything."

Those storm clouds haven't entirely cleared, though. She's forthright on "Baggage," and offers an understanding hand on "Good Woman Down." Other songs find her grappling with her abusive father. There's pain and love, good and bad, ups and downs ... Blige is complete. The evening after a kick-off party for her disc, she told us about the power of celebration, sharing the stage with U2, and trying her hand at acting.

VH1:

Your record had people dancing at the listening party last night -- is that always a goal? Do you have that in your mind when you're working in the studio?

Mary J. Blige:

If it's a beat that's making me dance I'm usually like "Wow, I hope it makes other people feel the way it makes me feel." So yeah, it's definitely a treat to see people moving.



Name a song on the new record that you think might get rumps shaking.

I think the ghost track on the record, that's the Chucky Thompson "Show Love." If you're listening to "One," it comes right afterwards. It's a hidden track. And then I think it's the "Enough Cryin" that makes you move, too. That one's pretty good. And "Good Woman Down," that drives me crazy cause I'm such a hip-hop head. That's for the heads. It's a beat that's just for us to nod our heads. Then for the old school you got "Baggage," which is like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. That's another with a particular kind of hump on it that just makes you rock. It does it to me and then to see it actually work on people, it's like "Wow, okay this is good - the way they're giving it up is honest."



In the video, you write lyrics on the laptop. Ever used that method to put together rhymes?

When I need to, yeah, I try it. I'm not that computer literate but I try to do things on the computer, yeah.



What's your regular writing process? How do you organize your thoughts?

I keep everything stored in my head. If it's something that really excites me, I won't forget about it. When I get in the studio I just unload it on paper. Depending on what the beat is and what the color of the track it is, we unload from there. If it's a melancholy track or a real up-tempo joint, we choose it from there. If it's a heavy [lyric] I don't forget.



Do you have an example of that on this new album?

Yep, "Baggage." That song is about how you go from one relationship to the next trying to make somebody pay for what the last person did to you, not even knowing that's what you're trying to do. Somebody's gotta pay for all this hurt. So I called it "Baggage."



Matthew Rolston directed the video, right?

Yeah, but we all had something to do with it, as far as the creative parts go. The record company, myself, my husband, we definitely got big ideas. When you listen to the song you just know what to do. It ain't rocket science.



You're really natural in front of the camera these days. The video has a true storyline. Have you gotten pitches for acting roles?

I'm getting so many scripts sent to me right now. I just gotta pick the one that's for me, not the one that's gonna give me the popular look. I gotta be comfortable. Doing that video was a comfortable world for me because it's realistic; it's not offensive, it's not hurting anyone. Mary J. Blige's goal is to not offend anybody or purposefully hurt anyone. Sometimes you can't help that because we don't even know we're doing it, but not to just kick a road that's gonna make my fans be like "What the heck?"



Do you feel in you've got some actress in you?

Yeah. I was looking at the "Your Child" video last night and as nervous as I was doing that video I don't think I did too bad at all with the acting part. Then I watched this low budget film called Prison Song that I hate. But when I look at it I see that I have potential. I'm getting more confident as I see myself in front of the camera. So, it's like "Okay, I can do this from a realistic, Mary J. Blige actress standpoint."



Are you a movie buff?

My husband loves to go out and see movies. I try to go with him. Sometimes I can't really deal with it, but I go with him just to make him happy. I think the last thing we went to see was War of the Worlds. It was so good to see it in a big theatre. Now I wanna go run see King Kong. I wanna see what they did to it, 'cause it's such a classic.



The new one is called Breakthrough. What makes this a different Mary J. record?

The fact that through everything, through it all, I've come to a place where I know that I'm gonna be alright. I know there's gonna be so much more trouble and negative stuff, but I choose to do the right thing. Even when I'm angry, I try to do the right thing.



It's a maturing process.

I'm at a point where I can embrace the pain, embrace the fire, a place where I really don't let too much bother me.



You recently played with U2 at a benefit show. What did it feel like to be the band's fifth member?

It was at Madison Square Garden, and it was an unbelievable feeling to hear those people screaming. I had no idea they even knew who Mary J Blige was. It was U2's audience. When I walked out there, they lost it. I was like "Whoa, father God."



Do artists have a responsibility to mobilize people? Is that part of what music and art should be about?

I can't say what other artists should do, because your job shouldn't have to be saving the world if you don't want it to be. I believe people like Bono have made the choice and they understand their position in the music business. They don't just hold on to their superstar position for themselves and all of their money, they give back. Same thing with Mary J. Blige. I did and do everything that I can to make sure my people know I'm out there in the fields with 'em. I'm in the fire with y'all. I might not be in the same financial situation that you are, but spiritually we all on the same...we're going through the same thing emotionally.



Name another rock band you'd like to see yourself with.

I really like Coldplay. If they would have me, that'd be cool. I heard their last album; I couldn't believe it was them. And that other group, Maroon 5. They got a song with Kanye West right now.



What are your favorite CDs this year?

Van Hunt and Usher. Wooo, Usher's album - don't even play around. And of course my regular stuff, my Anita Baker and my Ohio Players and my Earth, Wind, and Fire and my Kool & the Gang. They give me fuel. Those people keep me going.



If I looked in your window, I'd see you dancing to those classics?

It's not even a dance that I do, it's just something that I feel in my heart, in my stomach. It just wakes me up and makes me wanna go make better music. It makes me wanna have a great day.



You stay in good shape. Do you have a daily workout routine?

You know, it used to be a routine and I would do it, but I wouldn't like it. But now I really enjoy it. After seeing the results, you're like "You know what? This is my friend. Even though it hurts, I'm gonna make this my friend, I'm gonna embrace this." The more I embrace it, the easier it gets. It's fun now.



Name one food that you love that messes with the exercises.

Carbs. Pasta, cake, I love cake; I need my cake.