When Mary J. Blige took the Super Bowl stage on Sunday (Feb. 13), fans were aware that she’d be performing her Dr. Dre-produced single, “Family Affair.” Her second song “No More Drama,” on the other hand, was a surprise. With an expansive discography spanning three decades, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul talked to Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” about the reason for that particular selection over another song, specifically her well-known hit “Real Love.”
“Well, I only had two minutes…if that, and 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,” the Yonkers native explained. “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.'”
As fans know, Blige was accompanied by fellow headliners Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Eminem and Dr. Dre, who collectively represented hip hop on the Super Bowl‘s platform. During an interview with “The Breakfast Club,” she admitted she was nervous before she hit the stage. “I was nervous at rehearsals, I was nervous period, but when I hit the stage, I was like, ‘whatever,'” said Blige.
In regards to her passing out at the end of her performance, she revealed that the gesture was a sign that represented how she felt. “You just get tired of fighting, so you just like pass out,” said the singer. “That’s what ‘No More Drama’ means. I know the world wanna just pass out because of all this foolishness.”
In the wake of the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, Blige is still hard at work. She’s promoting her newly-released album Good Morning Gorgeous and is now preparing to take the stage with DJ Khaled & Friends on All-Star Saturday (Feb. 19) and at the 2022 NAACP Image Awards the following week.
See a clip of her interviews below.