Mariah Carey Covers Complex Magazine: Talks Prince, Reality Television & More

Mariah Carey is, and will forever be a legend/icon. 18 number one records, multiple Grammy/AMAs, forever be remembered for her whistle tone, and more; she is Mariah Carey, don’t forget. Carey graces the cover of Complex Magazine and talks about Prince, her billionaire fiance, her upcoming reality television show on E!, her love of gangster rap, and more.Carey is fresh off of her Vegas residency, and will be guest starring on Empire in the fall. She will working along side, and creating music with Jussie (Jamal Lyon).

Carey’s first love is music, so her dabbling in different forms is no surprise, especially knowing the different collaborations she pulled off over the years, althoguh her label felt it would be a bad idea to mix Hip Hop at first. “I was like, ‘No, I’ve grown up on this. You think it’s something new. You’re kidding me!’” Carey recalls thinking of how she had to fight to get her ODB feature track. Carey essentially help bridge the gap between Hip Hop & R&B/Pop collaborations in the 90’s. “I love the grimiest rappers in the world,” she says. “That’s my favorite.” Carey was deemed a pop princess, but wanted to be more than that, and expand the perception of her. I was always in a bubble that they put me in, but I was always punching out. It was a tough line to walk.”

Carey has been through a lot, which is why her new reality show “Mariah’s World” came as such a shock. She has been such a guarded person for so long. “I’ve become more comfortable with it. In the beginning I was like, ‘Fine, we can document the tour, we can show what’s happening behind the scenes, with the singers, the dancers, the this, the that. You can see me when I’m on stage, I’ll talk—blah blah blah.’ But what I started to realize is that my best moments are off the cuff.”

Carey also went on to discuss her friend Prince. “Prince was one of the best people I’ve met,” Carey says. “He didn’t care about the big system. I was always like, at any time Prince could write a No. 1 song, because he’s that talented, but he chooses to do what he wants. I respect that. He actually helped me through a lot of situations with his knowledge. He always had a plan. I just can’t believe he’s gone. I was hoping that it was a trick that he was pulling—that it didn’t really happen.”

You can read/see more at Complex Magazine here.