Mariah & Me!

So I ran into Mariah Carey's manager Benny Medina yesterday. He's quite a character with lots of classy bling and things, of course. As a matter of fact, before Will Smith became king of the cineplex he played the title character in the TV Show "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" which happened to be based on Mr. Medina's life! So, yes, he's larger than life in every way but, if he trusts you, then in you're in for life (and, yes indeed, we've spent enough time together that he definitely trusts the Roxster!). I asked how Mariah was doing and he said we all had to get together for dinner again, which made me realize I hadn't shared my "Dinner at Mariah's" experience on TTGP. So, about a year and some change ago Rox was invited to Ms. Carey's house for dinner (she was living in LA in Prince's old mansion because her NY Penthouse was flooded, of course). I, of course, gladly acccepted and then tried to figure out what the hell I was going to wear. Anywho, I drove up into the Hollywood Hills to MC's tiny little mansion (it was huge) and parked right near the front doorway. It was glorious. I was greeted by one of the staff and showed to a gorgeous area of the kitchen (I thought they were going to put me to work but thankfully they simply offered me a beverage). There were about eight of us and Benny was there, as well as some other extremely interesting characters. Well, down came Ms. Carey in all her glory and the first thing I said to my self -- with my inner voice -- "Self, that girl is skinny and HOT!!" She walked right up and shook my hand. We became fast and furious friends. The catered dinner was served in her backyard under the stars with candles providing a wonderful glow all around us. Mariah was telling me she always wanted to be a beautician her whole life and she always appreciates good hair (this comment came after she just told Rox that the hair was fierce!!). We talked 1990s Mariah and her first time on VH1's Diva's Live -- Ms. Aretha was on that with Mariah, of course. All of a sudden, Mariah breaks into a dead-on impersonation of Ms. Franklin and tells the story of Aretha calling Mariah and having her come into her trailor (again, all in "Aretha") and how Aretha was informing Mariah that they were not going to rehearse their duet because the VH1 people weren't turning off the air conditioning and "Ms. Aretha doesn't sing with the air blowing." Mariah stops the impersonation -- as we all are laughing hysterically because we couldn't believe that 1) We were sitting in Mariah Carey's backyard having dinner 2) that Mariah Carey was doing an impersonation of Aretha Franklin and 3) that she was so damn GOOD at it!! I digress, so Mariah says, "And so I think to myself, 'I'm going to sing in front of millions of people with Ms. Aretha Franklin without a rehearsal??! Ok, I can do this, I can do this." Love her!! Mariah and I have spent quite a bit of time together over the past year and I value our friendship and her vast talents (remember, she writes, produces AND sings). Here is what I've come to learn Ms. Carey is all about -- she is about creating music, not taking herself too seriously, and being appreciative of meeting new friends under the stars.