Nine-time Grammy winner Mary J. Blige recalled the first time she met The Notorious B.I.G. in a recording studio when he was laying down his verse on her 1993 album What's the 411? Remix.

'He was sweet and fun,' the 49-year-old Queen of Hip Hop Soul said during Tuesday's episode of No Filter with Naomi Campbell.

'He was in the studio [leaning] on the wall, smoking, and quiet...When he came out [of the studio], he was like, "You feeling that, Mom?" [I was] like, "Yeah, of course I'm feeling that! Crazy!" He was always humble, and quiet, and sweet. And fun, just a lot of fun.'

'Yes, Kim is still my little baby sister. That's my baby, my heart,' Blige gushed.

'Puff has been in my life since the beginning of my career. We were working on What's the 411 together. He was the A&R for my first album. He was already my brother and my family by the time I got the My Life album.'

The Bronx-born R&B belter recounted how she was discovered by Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell in 1989 after hearing her cover of Anita Baker's 1986 song Caught Up in the Rapture she recorded at Galleria White Plains.

'[Andre] was like, "Oh my God, you're a star!"' said Mary, who got a house call from Harrell.

'He told my mother, "Your daughter is going to sing for royalty one day." He came to my hood, and heard this young girl sing, and gave me a chance, and everything else was history.'

Sadly, the New Jack Swing pioneer (and Diddy mentor) died, age 59, from heart failure at his West Hollywood home on May 7.

Blige currently plays Monet Stewart Tejada in the 10-episode Power spin-off Power Book II: Ghost, which airs Sundays on Starz.

The two-time Oscar nominee will also portray Grammy winner Dinah Washington in Liesl Tommy's fully-authorized Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, which hits US theaters January 15 and UK theaters January 22.



Source: Dailymail.co.uk