For R&B superstar Mary J. Blige, the losses of her friends and fellow stars D’Angelo and Angie Stone have been weighing heavily on her. She recently admitted to how their deaths have been affecting her in a recent interview, nearly a month after D’Angelo’s death, after a private battle with pancreatic cancer on Oct. 14.
“I worked with him and Angie. I knew Angie very well and I knew D’Angelo very well, and I’m just still shocked and surprised,” Blige said, speaking with People magazine. Stone, D’Angelo’s former partner, lost her life in a car crash in Montgomery, Alabama, while en route to a show in Atlanta earlier this year in March. “I just can’t believe that both of them are gone,” she added.
The Grammy Award-winning vocalist spoke about how both artists were extremely gifted and, in turn, very guarded about their personal and professional circles.
“If they let you in, that means you were special because they didn’t mess with a lot of people,” Blige said. “They were very quiet, both of them, and very selective on who they let into their world as far as working with them. I was grateful to have that opportunity to be around them like that.”
Blige and D’Angelo performed on the same concert lineups in the past few years, particularly the Liberation Tour in 2012 and 2013, along with singer Melanie Fiona in support of their respective albums – My Life II…The Journey Continues and Black Messiah. Angie Stone and Mary J. Blige were frequent songwriting collaborators.
Angie Stone and D’Angelo leave behind a son, Michael Archer II, who is now 27. In a statement made last month, he thanked fans and supporters, saying, “I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers during these very difficult times, as it has been a very rough and sad year for me. I ask that you please continue to keep me in your thoughts, as it will not be easy, but one thing that both my parents taught me was to be strong, and I intend to do just that.”
Blige was recently promoting the For My Fans concert film, which was shown at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. The film showed highlights from her global tour, which featured Ne-Yo and Mario, celebrating both the artists and her devoted fanbase.
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Photo: Getty
