THE REBRANDING OF MARY J. BLIGE: HER NEW IMAGE, NEW ATTITUDE & NEW APPROACH TO BUSINESS THE FEATURED COVER STORY FOR OCTOBERÂ’S SISTER 2 SISTER MAGAZINE.
The “drama-free” diva talks about life after death (Aaliyah’s), life after debt, life after alcohol and Puffy too.
(PRWEB) September 5, 2003
Takoma Park, MD, September 3, 2003—Mary J. Blige says she’s done a complete turnaround in her life and has a brand new business savvy to boot. From a new positive attitude, to a new outlook on what it takes to maintain amicable relationships with the media and business constituents, Mary J. Blige tells Sister 2 Sister magazine that she’s put the bottle down and the extravagant spending aside for a smarter, healthier and more whole lifestyle. Blige is featured on the October cover of Sister 2 Sister which hits newsstands on September 9, 2003.
Sister 2 Sister publisher, “the Barbara Walters of Print,” Jamie Foster Brown sat down for the revealing conversation with the new, upbeat and admittedly happy Blige.
“I like me and I love myself,” said Blige. “That’s the way you keep anything good in your life—by not worrying about what other people think about you. It’s about what you think of yourself.”
Blige also talks about how she went to the brink with alcohol and debt, but managed to dig herself out of the hole with the help of God, her fiancé Kindu and the death of friend Aaliyah.
“Right, I was like, I can’t lose him. I went home sober and he was happy,” Blige recalls. “That same night Aaliyah got killed. That really messed me up because the first thing that came to mind after that was that I wanted to have a drink, but I didn’t because I saw the pattern.”
Confessing to having a bad attitude before and a bad reputation to match, Blige went on to talk about her image turnaround, and how her new approach to business has meant a boost to her career. She credits her turnaround mostly to her manager and fiancé.
“They [The corporate world] wants to see you doing business properly,” Blige said. “The bottom line is that they need to see a change in Mary, not someone that heard I was a bad person. We’re just showing them that we’re ready to do this right”
Also within the October edition, Jamie Foster Brown has a one-on-one chat with Kobe BryantÂ’s high school sweetheart, Jocelyn Ebron. Introduced to Kobe by a couple of his cousins, the young woman talks about what it was like to be the basketball phenomÂ’s girlfriend, how their prom night changed when Brandy came into the picture, and what she and her family felt when they heard the news through the media that he was engaged to Vanessa Laine. According to Ebron, Kobe didnÂ’t call to break up with her or tell her the news.
“I didn’t have to tell my parents. We were sitting in the room and I think we all heard it together,” said Ebron. “What was really shocking is that his cousins didn’t know. It was a shock to everyone.”
As for the charges of sexual assault against the basketball star, Ebron gave insights on KobeÂ’s character.
“I can see if someone says he acted foul towards them,” Ebron said. “Rape just seems really harsh. That’s not in his character.”
Also within the pages of the September S2S, R. L. of Next explains why he thinks his new marriage went south in less than three months. Sister 2 Sister included wedding photos of the happy couple in the September edition; however, in the October edition, he tells why the couple is calling it quits.
“We still love each other, but in the end we knew that this is what was best because we would argue all the time about stuff that we couldn’t change,” said R. L.
Jamie Foster Brown is available for interviews on all of these topics and more. For insights, reactions and opinions on the latest topics contact Michelle Starr at 469.948.0119 for booking.
Sister 2 Sister (S2S) is the fastest growing audited entertainment and lifestyle magazine for African American women. It has been in existence for 15 years and is wholly owned by Jamie Foster Brown, “The Barbara Walters of Print,” who built her career in the entertainment industry. Since its modest beginnings as a newsletter for women in the entertainment industry back in 1988, the magazine has developed into one of the most powerful and respected voices in entertainment, focusing on Black celebrity news. Currently distributed in the U. S. and abroad, S2S has achieved phenomenal growth, nearly quadrupling circulation in the last five years. For more information on Sister 2 Sister, log on to http://www. s2smagazine. com (http://www. s2smagazine. com).
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