Uptown tried to capitalize on the success of What's the 411? by issuing a remixed version of it a year later, but it was only a modest success creatively and commercially.
Combs had a heavy hand in What's the 411?, along with producers Dave Hall, Mark Morales, and Mark Rooney, and the stylish touches that they added to Blige's unique vocal style created a stunning album that bridged the gap between R&B and rap in a way that no female singer had before. In 1991, however, Sean "Puffy" Combs took Blige under his wing and began working with her on What's the 411?, her debut album. Harrell was impressed with Blige's voice and signed her to sing backup for local acts like Father MC. The resulting tape was passed by Blige's stepfather to Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell. When she was at a local mall in White Plains, NY, she recorded herself singing Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" into a karaoke machine. Her rough life there produced more than a few scars, physical and otherwise, and Blige dropped out of high school her junior year, instead spending time doing her friends' hair in her mother's apartment and hanging out.
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With her fifth album, No More Drama, it wasn't just Blige's style that shone through the structures set up for her by songwriters and producers, it was her own vision - spiritual, emotional, personal, and full of wisdom, it reflected an artist who was comfortable with who she was and how far she had come.īlige spent the first few years of her life in Savannah, GA, before moving with her mother and older sister to the Schlobam housing projects in Yonkers, NY.
Blige reinvented her career again and again by shedding the bad habits and bad influences that kept her down by the time her fourth album, Mary, was released in 1999, she had matured into an expressive singer able to put the full power of her voice behind her music, while still reflecting a strong urban style. As she exorcised her personal demons and softened her style to include sleek designer clothes, she remained a hero to thousands of girls growing up in the same kinds of rough places she came from. With her blonde hair, self-preserving slouch, and combat boots, Blige was street-tough and beautiful all at once, and the record company execs who profited off of her early releases did little to dispel the bad-girl image that she earned as she stumbled through the dizzying first days of her career. Blige's title reflecting both her powerful soul vocals, and added Hip Hop flavor. She would quickly be crowned "the Queen of Hip Hop-Soul" leaving Aretha the title "Queen of Soul". Called alternately the new Chaka Khan or new Aretha Franklin, Blige had little in common stylistically with either of those artists, but like them, she helped adorn soul music with new textures and flavors that inspired a whole generation of musicians. When her debut album, What's the 411?, hit the street in 1992, critics and fans alike were mesmerized by its powerful combination of her modern R&B rendition of the classic soul aesthetic also mixed with an edgy rap sound that glanced off of the pain and grit of Mary J. Blige performed "25/8" for the first time live at Good Morning America the following day.
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The 25/8 Songfacts reports that the first single from My Life II: The Journey was released for digital download on September 1, 2011. She released her debut album, What's The 411?, in 1992 to critical acclaim, and has since released eight more chart topping albums.
Mary Jane Blige (born Januin The Bronx, New York, United States but grew up in Yonkers, New York) is a Grammy award winning singer, rapper, model and actress.