May 7th, 2012

What’s amazing is this is Mary’s twelfth time covering Essence, and for once the story isn’t focusing on Mary’s tumultuous past but on the love she has for self and how that shines through in her personal style.

“I was never really able to look at myself in the mirror until I began to hear God telling me I was beautiful,” Mary said. “Suddenly, other people started telling me I was beautiful, too, because I had started believing it…”

That beauty shows through in Mary’s personality and her work ethic, according to Essence.

“She…

She’s from the Bay and obviously she does not play!  She being Usher Raymond’s ex-wife Tameka Foster Raymond.

Usher and Tameka have been going through a bitter legal fight over custody of their two young boys — a fight that came to a head in a Georgia courtroom this past week.

Tameka took the stand and, as you can see in this video, was questioned by Usher’s attorney about a verbal threat towards the singer —  the former Mrs. Raymond allegedly said “I will kill you both,” referring to Usher and his current girlfriend.

Foster went back and forth with her answer before coughing…

The Kentucky Derby is an event held at Churchhill Downs that has taken place for over a century.  The event which features some of the fastest, strongest horses vying for the crown is heavily attended by America’s rich and famous donning hats of every shade and color.

This year’s Derby featured a little more color than just the hats, R&B singer Mary J. Blige was chosen to perform this year’s National Anthem before 150,000 screaming race fans.   Though her performance went off without a hitch, organizers of the event fielded calls and emails, days before the event, from attendees voicing their displeasure at…