Last weekend, viewers of the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show were treated to a medley of classic hip-hop songs spanning decades. While each presenter, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar, performed some of the biggest hits they’re most known for, Grammy Award-winning singer Mary J. Blige chose a record she felt was fitting for the current climate.
While talking to Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning,” the “No More Drama” singer revealed why she picked the August 2001 hit from her fifth studio album of the same name. Noting that she only had roughly two minutes to perform, she told listeners, “I had to do what I felt what the world was watching needed, and I think ‘No More Drama’ was appropriate because I know I’m sick of wearing all these masks and all this COVID and people dying every day.”
She continued, “Every time I turn on the news, men are walking in their house blowing they kids and their wives away, and then themselves. That’s obviously what Dre felt was appropriate because he picked the songs, and I was like, ‘Absolutely, you can’t lose with “No More Drama” because of the climate out here in the world.’”
Elsewhere, the “Family Affair” singer spoke about the days leading up to the epic performance, admitting that “I was nervous at rehearsals, I was nervous, period, but when I hit the stage, I was like, ‘whatever.’” The 51-year also explained her passing out at the end of her performance, which ultimately became a viral meme.
Blige explained that it was representative of how she felt at that moment. “You just get tired of fighting, so you just like pass out,” the Yonkers, New York, native said. “That’s what ‘No More Drama’ means. I know the world wanna just pass out because of all this foolishness.”
Shortly after the star-studded event, director and actor Tyler Perry set the internet ablaze after reenacting Blige’s Super Bowl performance on Feb. 16 to promote his upcoming Netflix project “A Madea Homecoming.”
In the Instagram post, Perry shared two digitally altered images of Blige’s halftime show set, along with a detailed story about how his character Madea Simmons had the outfit first. “MADEA J BLIGE I rocked the Super Bowl! Thank you to all my 10’s of fans. I was performing in the parking lot cause I think they was jealous. I had this out fit first and they made Mary’s with the little fabric they had left,” Perry jokingly said at the time.
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