Queen of hip-hop promises a soulful evening

Dubai: The queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J Blige, is poised to take the city by storm when she performs for up to 4,000 fans tomorrow.

The singer flew in on Monday for the concert at Madinat Arena. During a press conference yesterday, Blige promised a show featuring songs from her seven-album career.

Referring to her style of music, the 35-year-old, wearing a halter-neck red dress and heavy gold jewellery, said: "I have retained a lot of what I had at the beginning. It's made me into the artiste I am today I am able to do hip-hop, soul and R&B."

Her rough childhood and the triumph in her battle with drugs and alcohol was the focus for a number of questions from the press. When asked why she still seemed to have "pain" in her voice, she answered: "There is a struggle with being happy when you come from such a dark, sad place. You are just hearing the realisticness [sic] in my voice and a hope for freedom in my mind and my heart."

Blige will be supported by Lebanese-born singer songwriter Karl Wolf.