Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award.
"Love @ 1st Sight" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige for her sixth studio album Love & Life (2003). It features a guest appearance from rapper Method Man. It was written by Blige, Sean Combs, Mario Winans, Stevie Jordan, Clifford Smith, and Mechalie Jamison and produced by Combs, Winans and Jordan. The song is built around a sample of "Hot Sex" (1992) by American hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest. Due to the inclusion of the sample, several other writers are credited as songwriters. Lyrically, it features the protagonist persistently wondering about a romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight.
"MJB da MVP" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige featuring rapper 50 Cent, taken from her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough (2005). The Cool & Dre-produced track is a cover version of "Hate It or Love It" as performed by The Game and 50 Cent, the first of which also provided a new verse for the official remix of the song. In the new vocal part, Blige relates the ups and downs of her career and expresses thanks to Dr. Dre and The Game for letting her work on a track. She mentions her start in 1991, the release of her first five albums and her sadness by the death of her friend, R&B singer Aaliyah. The song contains elements from "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" by Roy Ayers.
"Take Me as I Am" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Jordan "Infinity" Suecof and Thabiso "Tab" Nkhereanye along with three members of the writing collective The Clutch, Ezekiel Lewis, Candice Nelson, and singer Keri Hilson, for her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough (2005). Production was helmed by Infinity and Ron Fair, with co-production from Tal Herzberg. The song contains samples from "Garden of Peace" (1979) by American jazz musician Lonnie Liston Smith. Due to the inclusion of the sample, he is also credited as songwriter.
"I Can Love You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige along with her sister LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Rodney Jerkins, and Lil' Kim for her third album, Share My World (1997), with Jerkins producing the song and Lil Kim having featured vocals. The contains elements of the song "Queen Bitch," a track from Kim's debut album Hard Core (1996), co-written by Carlos Broady and Nashiem Myrick. Due to the inclusion of the sample, they are also credited as songwriters.
"Deep Inside" is a song by the American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Tara Geter and Kevin Deane for her fourth studio album, Mary (1999), while production was led by Deane. The song features a sample of piano playing from Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" (1974). John and co-writer Bernie Taupin are also credited as songwriters.
"You Bring Me Joy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey, and Chucky Thompson for her second studio album, My Life (1994), while overall music production was helmed by Combs and Thompson with the vocal tracks being produced by Jo-Jo. The song is built around a sample of "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" (1977) by singer Barry White. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford are also credited as songwriters. "You Bring Me Joy" served as the third single from My Life and peaked at number 29 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, also topping the Hot Dance Club Songs.
"Someone to Love Me (Naked)" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige for her tenth studio album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011). It features guest vocals by American rappers Diddy and Lil Wayne. "Someone to Love Me (Naked)" was written by Blige, Jerry Wonda and Leroy Watson, and was produced by Wonda. The song is a remix of "Someone to Love Me" from Diddy-Dirty Money's debut studio album, Last Train to Paris (2010). It samples "You Roam When You Don’t Get It At Home" performed by The Sweet Inspirations. It was released on March 29, 2011, as the first promotional single from the album.
"Mr. Wrong" is a song taken from American R&B singer Mary J. Blige's album My Life II... The Journey Continues (2011). It features rapper Drake. The song was written by Drake, Jim Jonsin, Danny Morris, and Rico Love, while production was helmed by Jonsin and Love. The song contains a sample from "Me and Mrs. Jones" (1972) by American singer Billy Paul. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert are also credited as songwriters. The song was released as the album's second official single on October 28, 2011.
Think Like a Man Too is the first soundtrack album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It serves as the soundtrack from the romantic comedy film of the same name (2014). The album was released on June 17, 2014, by Epic Records. It features guest appearances from The-Dream and Pharrell Williams, while production was handled by Rodney Jerkins, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Williams, Pop & Oak, Jerry Duplessis, Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper, Mark J. Feist, and Ronald "Flippa" Colson, among others.
Strength of a Woman is the thirteenth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was released on April 28, 2017, by Capitol Records. A pre-divorce album with heavy adult contemporary trap sounds, Blige co-wrote most of the album with American musicians Brandon "B.A.M" Hodge and DJ Camper, while additional production was provided by BadBadNotGood, Bigg D, Hit-Boy, Kaytranada, Lamb, and Neff-U. Strength of a Woman's subject matter was inspired by her personal journey of marital struggle and heartache which culminated in her separation from her manager Kendu Isaacs in 2016.
"Thick of It" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Darhyl "DJ" Camper Jr., and Jazmine Sullivan for her thirteenth studio album Strength of a Woman (2017), while production was helmed by Camper. The song embodies portions of the song "Give a Little Love" (1975) by Scottish pop rock band Bay City Rollers. Due to the inclusion of the sample, John Goodison and Phil Wainman are also credited as songwriters. The song was released as the lead single from the album on October 7, 2016. "Thick of It" went to number one on the US Adult R&B Songs chart.
"U + Me (Love Lesson)" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige from her 13th studio album, Strength of a Woman (2017). It was released on February 17, 2017, as the album's second single. Brandon "B.A.M." Hodge produced "U + Me (Love Lesson)" and co-wrote it with Charles Hinshaw, David D. Brown, and Mary J. Blige. It is a soul ballad, and its lyrics revolve around a breakup.
"Love Yourself" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige featuring rapper Kanye West. It was written by Blige, West, Charles Hinshaw, David D. Brown, Darhyl "DJ" Camper, Jr. for her thirteenth studio album, Strength of a Woman (2017), while production was helmed by the latter. The song contains samples from "Nobody Knows" (1970) by The SCLC Operation Breadbasket Orchestra And Choir. Due to the inclusion of the sample, I. Andrews is also credited as a songwriter. "Love Yourself" released on March 30, 2017, as the third single from Strength of a Woman.
"Set Me Free" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, Darhyl "DJ" Camper, Jr., and Charles Hinshaw for her thirteenth studio album, Strength of a Woman (2017), while production was helmed by Camper. The song was released as the album's fourth single on July 19, 2017, and peaked at number eight on the US Adult R&B Songs.
"Thriving" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige featuring guest vocals from rapper Nas. It was written by Blige, Darhyl "DJ" Camper Jr., Nas and Denisia “Blue June” Andrews and Brittany “Chi Coney” Coney from songwriting duo Nova Wav, while production was helmed by Camper. The song is built around a sample of the song "Under the Influence of Love" (1967) by American girl group Love Unlimited. "Thriving" was released by Republic Records as a digital single on May 10, 2019 to commence with Nas and Blige's The Royalty Tour and peaked at number 21 on the US Adult R&B Songs.
"Know" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Mark "Sounwave" Spears, and Denisia “Blue June” Andrews and Brittany “Chi Coney” Coney from songwriting duo Nova Wav, while production was helmed by Spears. The song was released by Republic Records as a standalone single on August 8, 2019. It peaked at number 12 on the US Adult R&B Songs.
"Still Believe in Love" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman, DJ Cassidy, Bradley Thomas, Jr., Eliott Trent, and guest vocalist Vado, while production was helmed by Cassidy and Gitelman along with Kuk Harrell and Jelli Dorman. The song contains a sample from "C.O.D. " (1984) by American R&B group Mtume. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Mtume band members James Mtume and Tawatha Agee are also credited as songwriters.
"Breathing" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Jocelyn Donald, Jose Leonel Sandova, Shaun "S. Dot" Thomas and guest vocalist Fabolous for Blige's fifteenth studio album Gratitude (2024), while production was helmed by Thomas, with Cashmere Brown credited as a co-producer. The song was released by Mary Jane Productions Inc. and 300 Entertainment on August 15, 2024 as the album's lead single and became Blige's ninth chart topper on the US Adult R&B Songs chart. It also peaked at number 13 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Gratitude is the fifteenth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on November 15, 2024, through 300 Entertainment and her Mary Jane Productions imprint. The album was promoted with the release of two singles: "Breathing" and "You Ain't the Only One," which both topped the Adult R&B Airplay chart.
