Tag Archives: Stephanie Mills

There comes a time where everyone’s breaking point gets tipped, after being tried one too many times on the wrong day by somebody…or in this case, somebodies. That day came recently for a group of Black samaritans who were just trying to enjoy their riverboat ride in Montgomery, AL. Matter of fact, that was also the day that a group of White dudes learned first-hand what it means to become the poster children for the phrase, “Mess around ‘n find out.”

Welp…fast forward to hours later…and legendary songstress, Stephanie Mills, has more than a few things to get off her chest about the riverboat-beatdown that has since gone viral. And as usual, Ms. “I Feel Good” did not bite her tongue one bit.

Quick Recap Of Riverboat Beatdown

In case y’all missed it, a video went viral this past weekend, showing four White males attacking a Black security guard on a dock in Montgomery, AL, simply because the guard reportedly told them they needed to move their pontoon boat out of the way, because it was already pre-designated for the awaiting riverboat to dock in that space.

Long story short…the White crew jumped the Black security guard in what started out as a 4-on-1 brawl, quickly ballooning into an epic larger brawl. That’s when the White dudes — who thought they’d outnumbered the single Black security guard — soon learned a lesson in (in my Queen Latifah voice) “U-N-I-T-Y…U-N-I-T-Y that’s for UNITY!” Said lesson was taught by the prompt and precise gathering of Black folk – who saw the men beating the security guard – and therefore commenced to running, skipping, and even swimming off the boat toward the dock to come to the security guard’s defense, delivering major blows to the White aggressors in the pontoon boat.

Stephanie Mills Speaks Her Mind

 

 

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A post shared by Stephanie Mills (@iamstephaniemills)

Stephanie Mills — like thousands of others — says she felt nothing but “joy” after watching the viral riverboat beatdown, and she’s even come up with a creative way to help cover some of the legal fees for any of the Black people who were arrested over this fiasco. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“Not sure if you saw this situation in Montgomery, Alabama home of the civil-rights movement. These thugs jumped a black men, who was just doing his job. They thought he was by himself..Boy they got what they came for. My manager @ampharris sent me this because he knows this would bring me so much JoY. I don’t condone violence, however there are exceptions. This is one. I love how he added this song, and now calls the video “A Change Gone Come 2023”. Lol, he called the young brother swimming across the lake a super hero #Aquaman. Listen, I will go do a charity concert for those brothers and sisters to help with legal fees. I stand with us✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾”

And there ya’ have it I Love Old School Music fam’… Ms. Mills said what she said!! Thoughts?

Here at I Love Old School Music, we love us some Stephanie Mills. Not only because she could sing circles around many of these new R&B singers heads today, but also because she’s one of the realest music legends to ever grace the game. So real, in fact, that she has no qualms about letting folks get a sneak peak into her dating life. Well, she lets them in on the throwback era of her dating life, not necessarily the current era.

Anywho, we’ll take what we can get. That brings us to the recent social media post she shared where she revealed that her childhood “boyfriend” is a legend in his own right…and nope, we’re not talking about Stephanie’s other ex, Michael Jackson. This go ’round, we’re referring to a Hollywood legend, who first became widely known from his work in Spike Lee’s joints back in the day. He was a dominant force on the screen then, and fast forward to today, he’s proven to be a very versatile and dominant force on camera now. Y’all already know the drill ILOSM fam’…get your scroll-on below, to check out who Stephanie Mills’ boyfriend once was…

Stephanie Mills’s Childhood “Boyfriend” Is…

Some months ago, Ms. Mills announced that she and actor, Giancarlo Esposito, were childhood sweethearts. Most of us old Schoolers know Giancarlo a.k.a. “Julian” the leader of the “Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity” in School Daze a.k.a. “Buggin out” a.k.a. from Do The Right Thing and his countless other roles in Mo Betta Blues, Malcolm X, most recently as “Gus Fring” from the television series, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He’s currently starring in the Netflix hit series, Kaleidoscope, as well. Big moves Giancarlo! 👏🏾👏🏾

In her post, Stephanie Mills shared a way-back-when photo of herself rockin’ two plaited ponytails, a ruffled dress, and a non-smile next to her then-boyfriend, Giancarlo, who was decked out in his suit and bowtie, smiling ear-to-ear…

She captioned the above photo with the following message:

#WBW 😂😂😂me and actor @thegiancarloesposito Aka #JohnCarlos when we were kids we called ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend. #WAYbackThen😂😂😂

Many were pretty much flabbergasted by her revelation of their past childhood love to say the least, even celebs like Jody Watley, D-Nice, Sheryl lee Ralph and more…

dnice: Omg! Awesome!

thesherylleeralph: 😍😍I LOVE this!!!!!

rodneyfoster: Awesome

debrobertsabc: Love those twists!

Other comments were from fans encouraging her manager, Amp Harris, to entice Stephanie Mills to get going with a biopic, or autobiographical memoir about her life, after noticing Amp mention to D-Nice that he was pushing to get that done:

ampharris: @dnice bro I am on her to write this book. She keeps pushing back…So do I😂😂😂.
1d31 likesReply

sir.dami*******: @ampharris the stories she could tell late 70s 80s 90s and 2000s – her story would be so lit 🔥🔥🔥🔥

djahsen****: @ampharris keep pressing cause I need that audiobook

nicole0*******: @ampharris stay on her w/writing her life story.

jidah_****: @ampharris PLEASE KEEP PUSHING QUEEN @iamstephaniemills I’ve been a fan since my parents took me to see her on Broadway and when I got my 1st stereo at 10 her album(along with ConFunkShun) was the 1st music I got to play on it. OMG! She is sooooooo worthy of her story being told. Not just for us Fans but for the WORLD to know her contribution to the industry and the world as a whole! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Well alright nah, Ms. Mills! First, it was Giancarlo Esposito…then it was the iconic Michael Jackson. Her dating game was legendary back in the day.

Here, at I Love Old School Music, we’ve just about heard everything there is to know about most of our favorite old school music legends. However, every now n’ then we come across a gem of information that surprises us, which is what the legendary, Stephanie Mills, has now done. She spilled a fun fact about her family that made us go, ‘Say what now…come again?!!’

Turns out, the “I Feel Good All Over” hitmaker is the cousin of a few well known R&B singers. For decades, they kept their familial connect on the low…but not anymore. Ms. Mills let the cat outta the bag and made quite a few jaws drop. Before we reveal who her cousins are, we’ll give you a couple hints: (1) They are some SANGIN’ somebodies!; and (2) They had ’90s R&B on lock. Think you guessed who they are, ILOSM fam?’ Well, get your scroll-on👇🏾 to see if you’re right…

Stephanie Mills’ Cousins Are…

The “Secret Lady” songstress’ previously ‘secret’ cousins are brothers, K-Ci (Cedric Hailey, 52) and JoJo (Joel Hailey, 50), of Jodeci. Ain’t that a blip?!! Stephanie Mills revealed this on Twitter a while back, while announcing her then-new duet, featuring her “cousin,” K-Ci. She even reiterated (for the people in the back) that K-Ci is her “real cousin”…which also means that JoJo is (the brothers share the same Mom and Dad):

Stephanie Mills- Get ready for my new single coming “Afraid To Love” a duet with my cousin K-CI of
@realkcijojo and yes, my real cousin 😁 😄

K-Ci and JoJo’s Other Famous Singing Cousins

Most of us Old Schoolers already know who K-Ci and JoJo’s other famous cousins are, but for anyone who’s been sleep for years, or are ‘young’ old schoolers, here they are…

Dave Hollister (of Blackstreet)

As a member of Teddy Riley’s group, Blackstreet, Dave Hollister was killin’ it, singing lead on hits like, “Before I Let You Go” (above video). He later went solo and tapped into the pain of many dads on his ’90s song, “Baby Mama Drama.” And yep…Dave is K-Ci and JoJo’s cousin too…their fathers are brothers.

FYI: In the ’90s, Teddy Riley reportedly offered Dave a spot in Blackstreet after hearing him sing K-Ci’s part on the duet, “Loving You Is All That I Have To Do,” while touring (as a background singer) with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet and more. Word on the Old School curb is that Dave was singing K-Ci’s part because K-Ci was beefin’ with his then girlfriend, Mary J. Bilge, and didn’t want to perform with her…but that’s a whole ‘notha story for another day. Moving on…

Fantasia

Fantasia (37) needs NO introduction. Like her big cousins, the former American Idol winner is a SANGIN’ somebody! She can sing the phone book and make us all feel something. Fantasia, K-Ci, and JoJo are first cousins. Their Dads are brothers as well.

Old School Fun Fact:

Prior to their R&B fame, by the time they were teenagers, K-Ci and JoJo had already released 3 gospel albums. They did so with the group, Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers, which also consisted of their pops, Cliff Hailey.

As you can see, music in the DNA of this family tree. You know how the saying goes- ‘Some people just have IT’…and Stephanie Mills, K-Ci, JoJo, Dave Hollister and Fantasia most definitely got ‘it.’

In case you didn’t know by now Stephanie Mills may be small in stature, standing 4’9″…but she has a BIG personality and ain’t afraid to speak her mind. That’s also one of the reasons why we think she should do more interviews, because they’re usually entertaining, even when we may disagree with her point of view. Anyways, Ms. Mills had a lot to say about Brian McKnight in a past interview. See why she called him disrespectful…

Not only did Stephanie have a few words for Brian McKnight, but she had a lil’ something to say about Erykah Badu and other artists too. Tell us if you agree with what she’s saying here…

STEPHANIE MILLS: BRIAN McKNIGHT “STARVED FOR ATTENTION”

In a past interview with Huffington Post, Stephanie Mills revealed this:

“I found that song [Brian McKnight’s “Show Me How Your Pu**y Works”] disrespectful. I just don’t think you have to go that far to get attention. And I think sometimes the older artists — because he is older now — the older artists are so starved for attention that they’ll just about do anything. And I come from the school of when they taught you how to sit and do interviews and taught you how to walk into a room. There was so much training during the time that I came through that we would never think of doing anything like that. So I think it took away from all of the classiness and the great stuff that he has done before.”

BRIAN McKNIGHT’S “SHOW YOU HOW YOUR PU**Y WORKS” VIDEO (EXPLICIT LANGUAGE)

MILLS WASN’T FOND OF ERYKAH’S NAKEDNESS EITHER

“It’s just like when Erykah Badu took off all of her clothes. I was like, ‘It’s just so unnecessary to do that!’ I love Erykah Badu, but I think sometimes they want to do the shock value thing, but I don’t think it always works for black artists the way that it works for white artists,” said Mills.

ILOSM family, do y’all agree with Stephanie Mills on this, or no?

Here, at I Love Old School Music, we’ve just about heard everything there is to know about most of our favorite old school music legends. However, every now n’ then we come across a gem of information that surprises us, which is what the legendary, Stephanie Mills, has now done. She spilled a fun fact about her family that made us go, ‘Say what now…come again?!!’

Turns out, the “I Feel Good All Over” hitmaker is the cousin of a few well known R&B singers. For decades, they kept their familial connect on the low…but not anymore. Ms. Mills let the cat outta the bag and made quite a few jaws drop. Before we reveal who her cousins are, we’ll give you a couple hints: (1) They are some SANGIN’ somebodies!; and (2) They had ’90s R&B on lock. Think you guessed who they are, ILOSM fam?’ Well, get your scroll-on👇🏾 to see if you’re right…

Stephanie Mills’ Cousins Are…

The “Secret Lady” songstress’ previously ‘secret’ cousins are brothers, K-Ci (Cedric Hailey, 52) and JoJo (Joel Hailey, 50), of Jodeci. Ain’t that a blip?!! Stephanie Mills revealed this on Twitter a while back, while announcing her then-new duet, featuring her “cousin,” K-Ci. She even reiterated (for the people in the back) that K-Ci is her “real cousin”…which also means that JoJo is (the brothers share the same Mom and Dad):

Stephanie Mills- Get ready for my new single coming “Afraid To Love” a duet with my cousin K-CI of
@realkcijojo and yes, my real cousin 😁 😄

K-Ci and JoJo’s Other Famous Singing Cousins

Most of us Old Schoolers already know who K-Ci and JoJo’s other famous cousins are, but for anyone who’s been sleep for years, or are ‘young’ old schoolers, here they are…

Dave Hollister (of Blackstreet)

As a member of Teddy Riley’s group, Blackstreet, Dave Hollister (53) was killin’ it, singing lead on hits like, “Before I Let You Go” (above video). He later went solo and tapped into the pain of many dads on his ’90s song, “Baby Mama Drama.” And yep…Dave is K-Ci and JoJo’s cousin too…their fathers are brothers.

FYI: In the ’90s, Teddy Riley reportedly offered Dave a spot in Blackstreet after hearing him sing K-Ci’s part on the duet, “Loving You Is All That I Have To Do,” while touring (as a background singer) with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet and more. Word on the Old School curb is that Dave was singing K-Ci’s part because K-Ci was beefin’ with his then girlfriend, Mary J. Bilge, and didn’t want to perform with her…but that’s a whole ‘notha story for another day. Moving on…

Fantasia

Fantasia (37) needs NO introduction. Like her big cousins, the former American Idol winner is a SANGIN’ somebody! She can sing the phone book and make us all feel something. Fantasia, K-Ci, and JoJo are first cousins. Their Dads are brothers as well.

Old School Fun Fact:

Prior to their R&B fame, by the time they were teenagers, K-Ci and JoJo had already released 3 gospel albums. They did so with the group, Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers, which also consisted of their pops, Cliff Hailey.

As you can see, music in the DNA of this family tree. You know how the saying goes- ‘Some people just have IT’…and Stephanie Mills, K-Ci, JoJo, Dave Hollister and Fantasia most definitely got ‘it.’

Although Stephanie and Shalamar’s, Jeffrey Daniel, divorced years ago, we wanted to share excerpts from an Ebony Magazine interview Mills did soon after they’d split, because the honesty and pain she revealed about their love, still resonates today. Stephanie and Jeffrey split in 1982, but didn’t officially divorce until ’83, after just three years of marriage. Their marriage was long-rumored to be a rocky one.

Mills’ Biggest Regret About Marriage To Daniel

Stephanie says that one of biggest regrets ” is that I didn’t have a baby for my husband. God knows I tried, but it’s something that just never happened. He wanted a son, and I’d still like to have it for him.”

When asked if having a baby for Daniel would have ‘saved their marriage’ at that time, Mills replied:

“Probably, I think it might help,” stated Mills.

She then addressed how her and Daniel’s short marriage unfortunately fit into the celeb’ marriage stereotype:

“I suppose that suggests that ‘show business marriages’ don’t have very good chances of surviving,” Stephanie says. “Both partners are so much in the public eye all the time and when you add that to all the other problems that come up in a ‘normal’ marriage, the picture’s not very bright. Maybe Jeffrey and I will have to do like some other couples- divorce, give ourselves a little time and space, then marry again. Maybe in-between we’ll learn all the lessons a couple has to learn in order to make a marriage survive,” Mills stated at the time of their separation.

Her Biggest Insecurity That Jeffrey Daniel Helped Eliminate

The beautiful 4’9″ songstress also confessed one of her biggest insecurities and how Jeffrey helped her to overcome it, despite their drama:

“Some people might find this hard to believe, but my marriage to Jeffrey Daniel was the greatest thing that could’ve happened to me. See, I’ve gone through some real changes at various times of my life, but because of Jeffrey, I’m now very happy with myself. All my life I tried to be the best I could be and I tried to look the best I could look. I always knew there are no perfect people in the world, but I had some problems about being a short person, and I suppose every girl wonders if she’s as attractive as someone else. As an entertainer, I know society has a thing about beauty. People are into that tall-pretty-girl-with-long-hair thing, you know. … I used to feel intimidated when I was around those gorgeous ladies, but I don’t feel that way anymore.”

When asked if therapy also helped her overcome her short complex,  Mills adamantly gave all props to Jefferey about this:

“Oh, no. It was Jeffrey Daniel,” she says. “He never stopped telling me that he loved me the way I was. He never tried to change me, and he told me I didn’t have to always wear high-heel shoes, for example. He told me, ‘Stephanie, if I’d wanted a tall woman I’d have married one. So don’t wear high heels for me. I love you in sneakers, barefooted, any way you want to be.’ He meant that and it went a long way in helping me change what I’d thought of myself at times. Now I think I’m tall as anyone else, I think I look good as anyone else.”

Overcoming Their Painful Divorce

Stephanie also stated she eventually realized that then 22 year old Jeffrey was too young at that time, to be a ‘responsibly’ married man. Although their marriage was plagued by cheating rumors and rumors of hostile arguments and/or altercations, she admitted their split took a painful toll on her:

“When Jeffrey and I first separated, I thought my whole world had collapsed. I didn’t think I was going to make it…. Here I was in this big house and I’d never really been alone. But let me tell you something. One day I got  up and went to the mirror and looked at myself and said, ‘Now look here, Stephanie Mills, you’re out here in California, you’re alone now, and YOU…ARE…GOING…TO…MAKE IT.

Damn…guess their union unfortunately wasn’t meant to be. We respect Ms. Mills for sharing her vulnerabilities with the world though.

Ever since the release of the documentary, “Surviving R. Kelly,” aired on LifeTime, many celebrities and fans have shared their opinions on the many R. Kelly allegations. While some chose to silently express their views, the legendary songstress, Stephanie Mills, chose to speak out on the issue shortly after the documentary released in 2019. We all remember R. Kelly’s infamous sit-down with Gayle King, where he yelled and scream about how he’d given, “30 years of his career” to everyone throughout the last two decades, and that he was innocent of all sex abuse claims against him. Well, soon afterwards, Stephanie Mills responded to his allegations, stating that ‘he should go to jail for what he’s done.’ On the other hand, the songstress did feel it was unjust for radio stations and streaming services to ban R. Kelly’s music.

According to BlackAmericaWeb, Stephanie Mills definitely believes the R & B singer is guilty, but she also believes that his ex-wife, Andrea Kelly, is guilty as well. WOW…now that’s the real scoop!

Ms. Mills went on to say:

“I don’t believe that his music should be muted. And I also believe that the handlers and his ex and his ex-wife and all of that should go to jail, too. You cannot tell me you live in a house with a man and you don’t know what’s going on. That is not true. I don’t believe that. She should go to jail, too. And so should the handlers that helped him”.

Contrary to Stephanie Mills’ viewpoint on this, Andrea Kelly went on the record stating that she was also abused by R. Kelly during her interview on “Surviving R. Kelly,” where she described very cringing details of the abuse she says she experienced while married to the “Bump N’ Grind” crooner:

“It started with yelling and being slapped and grabbed. He chips away at your self-esteem, your ability to even think. You’re just thinking, ‘What do I do to not piss him off’?” she told LifeTime.

Despite R. Kelly’s latest sex abuse conviction, many people are torn between whether his music should be banned or not. While some are not able to listen to R. Kelly’s music the same, others feel as though the art of music should not associate with his personal life dealings. Stephanie Mills was in agreement with this idea, as she felt as though his music shouldn’t be “tied to his alleged crimes.” Black America Web reported:

“Him writing his music has nothing to do with that. Him being an entertainer and a star,” Mills said. “And those parents bringing those children to the show and then allowing him— I have a son; there’s no way I would take my son to a Bruno Mars show, and say ‘OK, Bruno, you can mentor my son. I’m gonna let him stay with you.’ There’s no way.”

It’s unclear if Stephanie Mills feels the documentary should have been released, but she does believe R. Kelly and his ex-wife are guilty.

Stephanie Mills has one of the most powerful voices in soul music history and she also probably has one of the most short lived marriages to a fellow R&B singer in soul music history as well.

In 1980, the “Power of Love” singer jumped the broom with a popular R&B singer of the late 70s and 80s era. At that time, some of their family and friends hated the fact that they said “I do” to each other, but Stephanie and her man were determined to make their love and their marriage work. If you’re a fan of old school R&B music, you know her ex-husband very well, even if you may not have known that they were once in wedded bliss at the height of their careers.

A SHALAMAR SINGER IS MILLS’ EX-HUSBAND!

Now I know what some of you may be thinking: ‘Wasn’t Jeffrey in a long term relationship with his fellow Shalamar member, Jody Watley, during that time? The answer is ‘yes,’ BUT the answer is also ‘no.’

While it is true that Jeffrey and Jody were seriously dating in the late 70s, things went sour between them.  So they broke up and both of them moved on with their love-lives, but Shalamar stayed together. That’s when Jeffrey met Stephanie.

Stephanie Mills Reveals Why Marriage To Jeffrey Daniels Fell Apart

Jeffrey and Stephanie married only a few short months after they were introduced by a mutual friend and remember we mentioned that some of their family and friends hated that they were married? Mills revealed why in a past interview with Ebony Magazine. See the excerpts below:

Stephanie Mills:”My marriage was plagued by controversies and pressures from the moment Jeffrey and I decided to become husband and wife. Let’s just say there have been some forces -some people actually- determined from the very beginning to keep us apart, and when we went ahead and married, they did everything possible to break us up.”

SM: “Its’s no secret that my family didn’t want me to get married. My parents knew that I had made up my mind to do it, so I had their blessing, and my mother was helping plan the wedding. But others in my family thought it would be better for me to remain home. They’ve always wanted to keep me close by and protect me. But I was a full grown woman when I decided to marry, and I knew it was time for me to start making my own decisions about my life.”

EbonyMag: So what did you do?

SM: “I packed up my things, left my family [she had bought a 27 room house in New York’s suburban Westchester County for them], and moved in with my sister Judy in Los Angeles until I married and found my own place.

Stephanie and Jeffrey were married for over a year, before Stephanie filed for divorce in September of 1981. Word on the Old School curb has always been that one of Stephanie’s sisters seriously wanted her to hold out for her ex-boyfriend, Michael Jackson (yes THE MJ…they were a couple back in the day), and eventually marry him one day.

There were also rumors that on Stephanie Mills’ and Jeffrey Daniel’s wedding day, one of her sisters attempted to pull Stephanie out of the car, just before she and Jeffrey were about to be whisked away into marital bliss. But that was never confirmed, although Stephanie did admit to terminating her working relationship with her sister, Audrey, around the same time.

In that same Ebony interview, Stephanie also said that Jeffrey’s friends didn’t like her, although she didn’t know why.

Like we always say, here at I LOVE OLD SCHOOL MUSIC, many of our favorite celebs go through regular trials and tribulations just like the rest of us, because they’re human. Much respect to Ms. Mills for sharing her’s with the public.

Here at I Love Old School Music, we’ve seen several of our favorite Old School icons at their highest of highs and lowest of lows at times. And while it’s always great to discuss their high points, it’s unfortunate, yet equally as important to discuss their low points in life as well, because there is something we can always learn from them.

For queens, Stephanie Mills (64) and Chaka Khan (68), there were both sides of those coins on Thursday night, during their Verzuz performance. They looked GOOD, but everything wasn’t all good. For Ms. Mills, we got to witness what it looks like for one queen to be a stand-up woman, by re-adjusting her fellow queen’s ’tilted’ crown. For Ms. Khan we witnessed what it’s like for a queen to be at one of the lowest (public) points of her career and possible personal life – as she publicly tries to stand tall, while heavily impaired at the same time.

After tuning into the Verzuz last night with great anticipation of seeing Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan perform their iconic hits, it quickly became apparent that Stephanie was gonna hold her own, but unfortunately Chaka was not. The “Through the Fire” songstress was seemingly really high and/or drunk for the entire show, which lasted approximately one and a half hours.

Sad Reality Hit…Fast (Video)

From the moment Stephanie Mills and Chaka Khan entered the stage hand-in-hand, within seconds we realized that Stephanie was not only holding Chaka’s hand as a sign of sisterhood, but also as a form of support for Chaka…literally. And this show of support would continue throughout their performance in various ways, as Stephanie repeatedly lifted Chaka up by placing a supporting hand on the oftentimes stumbling-Chaka’s back, and also mentally and emotionally supporting her by attempting to cover Chaka’s songs for her due to Chaka forgetting many of the lyrics.

Chaka’s slurred speech, glassy eyes, unbalanced standing was alarming. Her ability to hit the high notes she’s infamously known for was still there, but so were many uncharacteristically off notes and forgotten song lyrics by Chaka.

Toward the beginning of their performance, Chaka had no choice but to sit down, because she could not hold her balance. This was a fact Stephanie Mills soon recognized as she gracefully directed Chaka toward her seat.

Some minutes into the show, Chaka began to attempt to move about the stage as she sang, but every step had many wondering if she would soon trip and fall.

Somewhere in the middle of their performance, Chaka changed her shoes into more comfortable Gucci boots, and that seemed to help her maintain her balance better, though not completely. However, the boots did give Chaka a confidence boost to further move about on stage…though still in an unstable way.

After a while, the audience just threw their support behind Chaka and rooted for the fact that she was merely there, as in, in-attendance, as they belted out her hit songs for her.

Throughout the show, Stephanie Mills sang her songs live…but during each of Chaka’s songs, production made sure the “I Feel For You” singer’s recorded song vocals were ramped up loudly underneath her, seemingly in efforts to drown out the many inaccurate notes and lyrics Chaka sang live to her own songs.

As cringeworthy as it was to watch an icon like Chaka slur her words, lose her footing on stage, and be incredibly incoherent as she performed, it was equally beautiful to witness the unwavering love we, the fans, showed her; and the endless efforts of Stephanie Mills to not only do her job, but also do Chaka’s job as well. Stephanie refused to let her sister fall disgracefully on her watch, without doing everything in her power to save Chaka.

Fans React

As news quickly spread across social media about Chaka Khan’s Verzuz performance, fans sounded off about everything from Chaka’s impaired state, to Stephanie Mills’ outstanding performance and support of Chaka. Some tried to make light of the situation, while others expressed deep concern for queen Chaka. Check out a few fan reactions below…

#VERZUZ I just watched. Y’all not gonna get me to say legendary Auntie Chaka Khan was drunk… pic.twitter.com/tppcTDYi0a

— QuantumOfKevin (@QuantumOfKevin) November 19, 2021

@cthagod as much as you talk about mental health, you think it’s ok to make fun of Chaka Khan possibly being drunk? Please explain. Especially since we know Chaka has battled those demons. #VERZUZ #verzuztv #ChakaVsStephanie

— Snappy Fingaz (@snappyfingaz69) November 19, 2021

Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills. Chaka acting like a drunk auntie at Thanksgiving

— Squirt Game🤧 (@1BipolarCancer) November 19, 2021

Give drunk Chaka Khan the same concern you gave Demi Lovato when she took a pic with alcohol #VERZUZ

— W.E.B. La Croix (@KekeJaNet32) November 19, 2021

Give drunk Chaka Khan the same concern you gave Demi Lovato when she took a pic with alcohol #VERZUZ

— W.E.B. La Croix (@KekeJaNet32) November 19, 2021

I need folks to remember that Stephanie Mills has been a consummate professional since she was 19 years old starring on Broadway. A real queen unafraid to help others adjust their crown. Salute to a real one #StephanieMills #VERZUZ https://t.co/EyI6pxZuTx

— DR. BROWN-DEAN (@KBDPHD) November 19, 2021

Chaka Khan is JadaKiss drunk lol pic.twitter.com/WIH8WBC6gM

— Forever Trill🇳🇬 🇰🇪 🇧🇸 (@mccauley713) November 19, 2021

Rooting For Chaka’s Redemption

Here, at I Love Old school Music, we will always raise up queens, like Chaka Khan, and love her through her weaknesses, while also supporting and encouraging her to get whatever help she needs to overcome them. Chaka has been very transparent in the past about her struggles with substance abuse. We’ll be right here rooting for her recovery and redemption this time as well.

Icons are not perfect, they’re simply perfectly-flawed human beings, just like the rest of us. Salute to Stephanie Mills for putting on a great show at Verzuz, and sending love and light to Chaka Khan…she can, and hopefully will overcome her personal struggles.

Here, at I Love Old School Music, we’ve just about heard everything there is to know about most of our favorite old school music legends. However, every now n’ then we come across a gem of information that surprises us, which is what the legendary, Stephanie Mills, has now done. She spilled a fun fact about her family that made us go, ‘Say what now…come again?!!’

Turns out, the “I Feel Good All Over” hitmaker is the cousin of a few well known R&B singers. For decades, they kept their familial connect on the low…but not anymore. Ms. Mills let the cat outta the bag and made quite a few jaws drop. Before we reveal who her cousins are, we’ll give you a couple hints: (1) They are some SANGIN’ somebodies!; and (2) They had ’90s R&B on lock. Think you guessed who they are, ILOSM fam?’ Well, get your scroll-on👇🏾 to see if you’re right…

Stephanie Mills’ Cousins Are…

The “Secret Lady” songstress’ previously ‘secret’ cousins are brothers, K-Ci (Cedric Hailey, 52) and JoJo (Joel Hailey, 50), of Jodeci. Ain’t that a blip?!! Stephanie Mills revealed this on Twitter a while back, while announcing her then-new duet, featuring her “cousin,” K-Ci. She even reiterated (for the people in the back) that K-Ci is her “real cousin”…which also means that JoJo is (the brothers share the same Mom and Dad):

Stephanie Mills- Get ready for my new single coming “Afraid To Love” a duet with my cousin K-CI of
@realkcijojo and yes, my real cousin 😁 😄

K-Ci and JoJo’s Other Famous Singing Cousins

Most of us Old Schoolers already know who K-Ci and JoJo’s other famous cousins are, but for anyone who’s been sleep for years, or are ‘young’ old schoolers, here they are…

Dave Hollister (of Blackstreet)

As a member of Teddy Riley’s group, Blackstreet, Dave Hollister (53) was killin’ it, singing lead on hits like, “Before I Let You Go” (above video). He later went solo and tapped into the pain of many dads on his ’90s song, “Baby Mama Drama.” And yep…Dave is K-Ci and JoJo’s cousin too…their fathers are brothers.

FYI: In the ’90s, Teddy Riley reportedly offered Dave a spot in Blackstreet after hearing him sing K-Ci’s part on the duet, “Loving You Is All That I Have To Do,” while touring (as a background singer) with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Blackstreet and more. Word on the Old School curb is that Dave was singing K-Ci’s part because K-Ci was beefin’ with his then girlfriend, Mary J. Bilge, and didn’t want to perform with her…but that’s a whole ‘notha story for another day. Moving on…

Fantasia

Fantasia (37) needs NO introduction. Like her big cousins, the former American Idol winner is a SANGIN’ somebody! She can sing the phone book and make us all feel something. Fantasia, K-Ci, and JoJo are first cousins. Their Dads are brothers as well.

Old School Fun Fact:

Prior to their R&B fame, by the time they were teenagers, K-Ci and JoJo had already released 3 gospel albums. They did so with the group, Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers, which also consisted of their pops, Cliff Hailey.

As you can see, music in the DNA of this family tree. You know how the saying goes- ‘Some people just have IT’…and Stephanie Mills, K-Ci, JoJo, Dave Hollister and Fantasia most definitely got ‘it.’