Mary J. Blige was born in 1971 and was raised in the Yonkers, Queens. Her childhood was rough, she's got a scar underneath her left eye to prove it. She cut a demo at the age of 17 (Anita Baker's Caught Up in The Rapture), which somehow made to Uptown Records, who gave her a record deal. But her debut album wasn't released until 1992. The album took the r&b world with storm and became a huge success.
...groundbreaking....it's ghetto-fied grooves dominated the radio then, and they still sound fierce today.....
The lyrics displayed real life and gave the attention to the darker aspects of love and urban life. It was a marvel, her voice resonated within my whole body and shook my soul.
Mary went through a few rough patches, she was abused by her boyfriends, drank and abused drugs. And all this she showed the world with her voice. The track Sweet Thang is my favourite on the album "What's The 411?". I liked the song by Chaka Khan, but Mary did such a beautiful job on it. Oh, oh, sweet thang, don't you know you're my everything.
Lesser imitators attempted to do what the rough and ready Mary did so effortlessy back then. You know, people wanted in on the ride! Only a few actually managed it, though. Destiny's Child used the inspiration from Mary and developed their own sound, one of the few to do so. Others were just pale copies and none had Mary's rough, vocal elegance.
Now she's out with a new album, The Breakthrough, which was released on December 20. last year. It's her 7. album and I sadly haven't bought it yet. But I intend to, really soon! And I think anybody who loves music, should as well.
Hail Queen Mary!!
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