Her voice - washed with blues and gospel and scratched with a sandy rasp that somehow manages to sooth - is a flawless instrument of conveyance. Mary J.'s rapping is better than Mos Def's singing, but there's no need for her to experiment with MC-ing she already has the perfect vehicle for reaching the masses. The lyrics, about walking out on a man while wearing Giuseppe Zanotti heels, are delivered via the singer's hip-hop alter ego, "Brook-Lyn" (so named, we suppose, because "Yonk-Ers," where the Blige was raised, ain't that catchy an alias).
Then she dropped her current single, "Enough Cryin'," on which she both sings and raps. The singer readied the crowd with "MJB Da MVP," the track from her latest album, "The Breakthrough," that borrows the beat from the Game's "Hate It or Love It," as well as "Real Love" and "Reminisce," both from "What's the 411?," her first and most hip-hop-influenced LP. The rhymes started early during her powerhouse show Sunday night at Nissan Pavilion. And it turns out that she does a better job representing New York, flipping samples and conveying pain than most rap stars. Blige has decided to join the ranks of the many rappers who have contributed verses to her songs for so many years. No longer content to be known simply as one of the most beloved R&B singers of the past decade, Mary J.
For those who haven't heard yet, listen up: Yo! MJB raps.