This article was originally published on January 23, 2018.
We do not call Mary J. Blige a queen for nothing.
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul made Oscar history today (Jan. 23), becoming the first person to score nods for a performance and original song in the same year for the same film.
Blige’s first-ever set of Oscar nominations includes Best Supporting Actress as Florence Jackson and Best Original Song for “Mighty River” –— both for Dee Rees’ film adaptation of the novel Mudbound.
“I just can’t stop crying,” said Blige early Tuesday morning. “My phone rang at about 5:30 a.m. and it was my publicist, Amanda, and she was screaming. And I don’t know what it is so I’m screaming and I’m crying! It’s just a really emotional time. We’re not taking this lightly because things like this don’t happen. And it did.”
In December, Blige discussed her role in Mudbound with Tracee Ellis Ross. “It’s a really powerful film and there is a happy ending. It’s a very relative story to today as well because a lot of people don’t seem to get the memo that we are free. We’re all free. All nationalities. We’re free.”
