BLIGE HONOURED BY ESSENCE MAGAZINE
Soul superstar MARY J. BLIGE was honoured for her career and humanitarian= work as she accepted Essence magazine’s inaugural Black Women in Music A= ward in Los Angeles on Wednesday (27Jan10).
Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid presented Blige with the first-ever statuett= e, in recognition of her musical accomplishments as well as her work with= the organisation she co-founded, the Foundation for the Advancement of W= omen Now.
The crowd, which included actresses Taraji P. Henson and Gabrielle Unio= n, and rapper Ludacris, gave Blige a standing ovation following a special= video clip in which poet Maya Angelou paid tribute to the singer.
Blige told the audience at Hollywood’s Sunset Tower Hotel, "Thank you s= o much for supporting me from the day I stepped foot into the music indus= try. It really means something to me to have Maya Angelou speak on my beh= alf. It also means a lot to have Oprah on my speed dial!" Ludacris later honoured the star: "I was privileged enough to do a song= with Mary J. Blige, and I’m just happy to do that, but anytime we celebr= ate her legacy and everything she’s done, she deserves it 100 per cent. I= love her music and I love her as a person."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
