Mary J Blige

Posted on 08.25.2006

Mary J. Blige
The "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul"
Birthday: 11 January 1971
Hometown: New York

Mary J. Blige biography :

With a voice that is rough and ready, sweet and pure, Mary J. Blige is capable of conveying heartache and happiness in a single musical phrase. A confessional singer, her emotional honesty reflects the great traditions of blues and soul with a ripped-from-the-pages-of-your-diary immediacy that has won her countless honors and a devoted, ever-growing audience around the world.

Over the course of twelve years, five studio albums and one live collection, Mary J Blige never fails to deliver potent R&B/hip hop mantras that work on the head, heart and hips. More than a vocalist, she is an accomplished recording artist known for her electrifying live performances, dramatic videos, and innovative studio productions with a who’s-who and who’s-hot of musical talents from Elton John to Eve.

A quantum leap forward and a welcome return to her roots, Love & Life, the latest CD from Mary J. Blige (scheduled for release 8/26/03) reunites Mary and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, the producer-performer who crowned her the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Now a seasoned songwriter (she co-wrote 17 of the album’s 18 tracks) as well as a brickhouse vocalist, Mary co-executive produced the album with P. Diddy. They collaborated on many of the albums’ tracks including the pulsating first single "Love @ 1st Sight,” a tune inspired by her real life romance that features Method Man, as well as "Let Me Be The One" (featuring 50 Cent). Blige and Combs won a Grammy in 1996 for "I’ll Be There/You’re All I Need To Get By." "The person I really am is hip hop. That stuff lives in me. I know how to choose whatever sample is the hottest thing cause I’ve lived in the clubs. I’ve been to block parties since I was 16. I’ve grown up in hip-hop culture."

Reflecting a new-found serenity without forgetting her trademark straight-up messages to players, cheaters, and fools, Love & Life features club-ready slammers ("Ooh!") tender love ballads ("Special Part of Me") and gospel-flavored songs ("Ultimate Relationship"). "Not Today" featuring Eve, once again pairs her with producer Dr. Dre who produced Mary’s #1 smash 2002 single “Family Affair.” "This album is more upbeat," she notes. "It’s a celebration of coming full circle. It’s who I am and who Mary J. Blige has been. "

Delivered with conviction and compassion, the songs on Love & Life are evidence of Mary’s spiritual growth and her transcendence over a childhood in the projects of Yonkers, New York and an early success plagued with drama, to her current joy. "Yes she’s gotten lost, she’s done this and that and she’s been trying to figure it out," Mary admits in her typically forthright manner.

The team of Combs and Blige helped usher in a stylish, "ghetto fabulous" hybrid of R & B that united gospel and blues-influenced vocals with high-tech funk and rap on Mary’s groundbreaking 1991 debut What’s The 411? Their follow-up, 1994’s My Life set a standard for soul that remains unmatched.

It also set her up for some hard life lessons explored on 1997’s Share My World and 1999’s Mary. With the same inner strength and raw honesty she had used to tackle her personal pain, these uncompromising recordings revealed the universality of Mary’s heartaches and demonstrated the healing power of music. "I didn’t want to tell my business," she continues. "I had no other choice. I wrote it down and people came back to me and said ’You saved my life!’ without even knowing that when they listened to me sing, it helped me, too."

Ushering in the 21st century Mary released the triple-platinum No More Drama in 2001. "I always thought my fans were just inner city but people from all over the world and of every color responded to that record. I gave a lot of myself not knowing it was gonna reach so many people." She has also reached them in other arenas, as a budding actress on TV (Strong Mediciine) and in the independent film “Prison Song” (co-starring with rapper Q-Tip) as well as in her humanitarian efforts.

In addition to filming anti-drug public service announcements, Mary has worked with various education groups and received Rock The Vote’s highest honor, the Patrick Lippert Award. She is a tireless fundraiser for people with AIDS and continues as the spokeswoman for MAC’s Viva Glam IV with all proceeds from the lipstick earmarked to AIDS education and research.

Whether pouring her heart out in a recording booth or on a concert stage or privately learning how to love herself and help others, Mary J. Blige has discovered something powerful. The music that she makes, the songs that have brought so much joy and solace to so many, have also been her own salvation.

"Going through all the stuff I went through wasn’t in vain because I found out that my job is to give," she concludes. "No More Drama wasn’t just an album, it was a transition in my life. I was tired of suffering, of the hustle and hassle of everyday life. I figured out that all along, the problem had been pride and ignorance. Right now I’m growing, I’m learning, and I’m listening. I realized that I need to hear the truth and that the truth is setting me free. And what you hear on Love & Life is the truth and my willingness to embrace it."

Mary J. Blige discography

My Collection of Love Songs (Live)
January 1, 2006

The Breakthrough
December 20, 2005

Love & Life
Released: August 26, 2003

No More Drama
Released: August 28, 2001

Mary
Released: August 17, 1999

The Tour (Live)
July 28, 1998

Share My World
Released: April 22, 1997

My Life
Released: November 29, 1994

What’s the 411?
Released: July 28, 1992

Mary J. Blige guest vocals
1990: "I’ll Do 4 U" (with Father MC, from Father’s Day)
1990: "Do The One, Two" (with Father MC, from Father’s Day)
1992: "Dolly My Baby" (with Super Cat, from Don Dada)
1992: "Good Luvin’" (with Christopher Williams, from Changes)
1992: "Check It Out" (with Grand Puba, from Real to Reel)
1993: "Trippin Out (Remix)" (with Prince Markie Dee & The Soul Convention, from Typical Reasons (Swing My Way)
1994: "Feel of Your Lips" (with Sista and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, from 4 All the Sistas Around da World)
1995: "I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need (Remix)" (with, Method Man, from Tical)
1995: "One More Chance/Stay With Me [Remix]" (with Notorious B.I.G. & Faith Evans, from Ready To Die)
1995: "Love Don’t Live Here Anymore" (with Faith Evans, from Faith)
1996: "Touch Me, Tease Me" (with Case & Foxy Brown, from Case)
1996: "All That I Got Is You" (With Ghostface Killah, from Ironman)
1997: "Can’t Knock The Hustle" (with, Jay-Z, from Reasonable Doubt)
1998: "I Used To Love Him" (with Lauryn Hill, from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)
1998: "The Way I Feel About You" (with Gerald Levert, from Love & Consequences)
1998: "Coming From" (with DMX, from Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood)
2001: "The Message" (with Dr. Dre & Rell, from 2001)
2000: "Confrontation" (with Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap, from The Tunnel)
2000: "911" (with Wyclef Jean, from The Ecleftic: 2 Side II A Book)
2000: "Hold On" (with Lil Kim, from The Notorious K.I.M.)
2000: "I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues" (with Elton John, from One Night Only)
2001: "Back 2 Life 2001" (with DJ Clue & Jadakiss, from The Professional 2)
2001: "There’s Only One" (with Busta Rhymes, from Genesis)
2001: "Breathe" (with Angie Martinez & La India, from Up Close and Personal)
2001: "Braveheart Party" (with Nas, from Stillmatic)
2001: "Can’t Knock The Hustle/Family Affair (Live)" (with Jay-Z, from Unplugged)
2002: "Beauty And A Thug" (with Jaheim, from Still Ghetto)
2003: "Heaven Somewhere" (with Common, Omar, Cee-Lo, Bilal, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, from Electric Circus)
2003: "My Life" (with Fabolous, from Street Dreams)
2003: "Whenever You Need Me" (with Nick Cannon, from Nick Cannon)
2003: "Whenever I Say Your Name" (with Sting, from Sacred Love)
2004: "Baby Girl Intro/Outro" (with Missy Elliott, from This Is Not A Test!)
2005: "Don’t Worry" (with The Game, from The Documentary)
2005: "I’m A Hustla (Remix)" (with Cassidy, from I’m a Hustla)
2005: "Tell Me Why" (with Will Smith, from Lost and Found)
2005: "My Struggles" (with Missy Elliott & Grand Puba, from The Cookbook)
2005: "Ain’t No Way" (with Patti LaBelle, from Classic Moments)
2005: "It All Goes By So Fast" (with Ray Charles, from Genius & Friends)
2005: "My Man" (with Carlos Santana & Big Boi, from All That I Am)
2005: "Living In Pain" (with Notorious B.I.G., 2pac & Nas, from Duets: The Final Chapter)
2005: "Love Changes" (with Jamie Foxx, from Unpredictable)
2006: "Favorite Flavor" (with LL Cool J, from Todd Smith)
2006: "It’s Alright" (with Mobb Deep & 50 Cent, from Blood Money)
2006: "Touch It (Remix)" (with Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX, from The Big Bang)
2006: "Be Easy" (with Young Hot Rod , from Fastlane)
2006: "Runaway Love" (with Ludacris, from Release Therapy)
2006: "Makin It Hard" (with Diddy, from Press Play)