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Mary J. Blige, the nine-time Grammy Award winning R&B singer/songwriter who rose to fame in the early ‘90s, is showing no sign of slowing down.
On Wednesday, the “Queen of Hip Hop Soul” announced she’s teaming up with Lifetime to executive produce Real Love, a film inspired by her 1992 hit of the same name.
“I wrote ‘Real Love’ based on my real-life experiences and my fans connected to it in a deeply personal way,” Blige said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “It’s exciting to now use this song and my music to create a new story by way of film, continuing to build on a pillar of the foundation of my production company, Blue Butterfly. My passions for acting and music now include developing diverse stories with music as the backdrop.”
The Lifetime coming-of-age drama will follow a “determined” Kendra who goes off to college in upstate New York. Kendra tries hard to keep a professional relationship between her and film class partner Ben, but things don’t go as planned. “Despite disapproving parents, financial hardship, and competition for the top spot in class, Kendra and Ben find themselves falling hard for each other and ultimately learn the meaning of real love,” the press release detailed, according to EW.
Though widely recognized for her musical talents, Blige is no stranger to television. In addition to her popular role as Monet Tejada in Power, Blige produced the 2020 movie The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel for Lifetime.
“We are so thrilled to be able to partner with her again on this new opportunity to bring her music to life in the form of a movie that we know audiences will love,” Tanya Lopez, EVP of scripted content at Lifetime, said.
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