Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971 in The Bronx, New York ) is a popular African-American R&B and soul singer, songwriter and producer.

Music career
Though she was innate in The Bronx, Blige grew higher in the public housing of Yonkers, eventually dropping away from school prior to graduating. Her musical career began fallowing she recorded "Caught Up in the Rapture" (Anita Baker) with the mall karaoke machine in 1989. A tape observed its way to Uptown Records, who signed her as a back-higher singer. Higher-&-coming producer Sean "Puffy" Combs took an interest, however, and helped her with her critically acclaimed debut, ''What's the 411?'', released in 1992. A album's blend of hip hop & soul music created a newly genre of music for female creative person & earned Blige a distinction when the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul".

A watch-higher, My Life, while less commercially successful than its predecessor, was an artistic profits. Our Life became one of a virtually all influential R&B albums of the 90's and would pave the groundwork for some of today's female R&B singers. When Uptown folded within 1994, Mary remained an artist for MCA Records throughout the 90s. Around 1996 Blige scored a #2 hit by having "Not Gon' Cry," the song she contributed to the soundtrack for the film Waiting To Exhale. By having Part Our Globe, freed within 1997, Blige began working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; the album was the commercial profits, though reviews were mixed.

Around 1998 she freed The Tour, her first survive album. A below month, Blige freed her for & virtually all critically-acclaimed album, Mary inside 1999. A album sold terminated both million copies.

Around 2001, Blige's fifth album, No More Drama was freed. A 1st only, "Family Affair", shot straight to number one in Billboard's pop stock and index charts in the fall of 2001, becoming Blige's biggest hit only up to now. A title track & "Rainy Dayz" featuring Ja Rule, a popular rapper at the period, besides became ii of Blige's large popular hits up to now inside 2002. A title song on this album borrowed a soft melody from either a theme song to the soap opera The Young and the Restless.

At a Grammy Awards in early 2002, Blige created one of the better performances of the award indicate's history by running into an emotional version of "No More Drama" in which she was seen crying at a prevent. When signing using Geffen after MCA folded in 2003, Blige freed her sixth studio release, Love & Life. A album, featuring a Top 40 hit, "Love at First Sight", was qualified Pt.

Mary J. Blige occurs as triad-instance Grammy award winner. One of which was her foremost for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group with rapper Method Man on their cover of the classic Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell single "You're All I Need to Get By", retitled "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need", in 1996. Blige is too an American Music Award and Soul Train Music award winner and won her 1st MTV Video Music Award for the video for "No More Drama" within 2002.

Blige is presently working in the fresh record, scheduled for the 2005 release. She experienced already processed an impact by using "MVP", the earnest reworking of The Game's "Hate It or Love It" that traces the turning points of her career & life, & has one of the cover song of The Emotions' "Best Of My Love", at the start recorded for the GAP holiday commercial. A individual, although difficult to call for, is available on the iTunes Music Store and the Rhapsody music service. Around September 2005 Blige appeared on the Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast telethon for Hurricane Katrina relief, singing an emotional "One" with U2.

Discography

Albums
''What's the 411? (1992) US: #6 (4x Platinum) What's a 411?: A Remix Album (1993) Usa: #118 (Gold) My Life (1994) US: #7 (4x Atomic number 78) Part Our Globe (1997) Usa: #1 UK: #8 (4x Atomic number 78) A Tour (1998) U.s.: #21 (Gold) Mary (1999) United states of america: #2 UK: #5 (3x Pt) No More Drama (2001)&(2002) US: #2 UK: #20 (3x Platinum) Dance for Maine (2002) America: #76 Love & Life (2003) US: #1 UK: #8 (Platinum) Reminisce (scheduled for release in December 6, 2005) A Breakthrough'' (scheduled for release within February 2006)

Number album sales: 21 million

Singles
"You Remind Me" (1992) R&B: #1 US: #29 "Real Love" (1992) R&B: #1 US: #7 UK: #26 "Reminisce" (1992) R&B: #6 US: #57 UK: #31 "Sweet Thing" (1993) R&B: #11 US: #28 "I Don't Want to Do Anything" (1993) R&B: #86 "Love No Limit" (1993) R&B: #5 US: #44 "You Don't Have to Worry" (1994) R&B: #11 US: #63 UK: #36 "Be Happy" (1994) R&B: #6 US: #29 UK: #30 "My Love" (1994) R&B: #23 UK: #29 "I'm Going Down" (1995) R&B: #13 US: #22 UK: #12 "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" (1995) UK: #17 $ "You Bring Me Joy" (1995) R&B: #29 "I Love You" (1995) United states of america: #57 (Your family Produce Pine tree state Sense) Such as The Natural Woman #39 R&B, #95 Hot 100 "Not Gon' Cry" (1996) R&B: #1 US: #2 UK: #39 "I Can Love You" (1997) R&B: #2 US: #28 "Everything" (1997) R&B: #5 US: #24 UK: #6 "Love Is All We Need" (1997) UK: #15 "Missing You" (1997) UK: #19 $ "Seven Days" (1998) UK: #22 $ "All That I Can Say" (1999) R&B: #6 US: #44 UK: #29 "Deep Inside" (1999) R&B: #9 US: #51 "Your Child" (1999) R&B: #23 "Give Me You" (2000) R&B: #21 US: #68 UK: #19 "Family Affair" (2001) R&B: #1 US: #1 UK: #8 "Dance for Me" (2002) UK: #13 $ "No More Drama" (2002) R&B: #16 US: #15 UK: #9 "Rainy Dayz"(featuring JA Rule) (2002) R&B: #8 US: #12 UK: #17 "He Think I Don't Know" (2002) % "Love @ 1st Sight" (2003) R&B: #10 US: #22 UK: #18 "Ooh!" (2003) R&B: #14 US: #29 "Not Today" (2004) R&B: #21 US: #41 UK: #40 "It's A Wrap" (2004) "Best Of My Love" (2004: GAP Holiday handle) "MVP" (2005) #75 America #19 R&B "Can't Hide From Love"(featuring Jay Z) (2005) #75 US

$ - UK single release % - "He Think I Don't Know" freed to promote remix album Dance for Us, & just to urban & dance radio.