Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul", Blige has won 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. She has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
"Family Affair" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, her brother Bruce Miller, Camara Kambon, Michael Elizondo, and Dr. Dre for her fifth studio album, No More Drama (2001), while production was overseen by the latter. The music for "Family Affair" was originally created in a jam session between Dre and musicians Mel-Man, Camara Kambon, Mike Elizondo and Scott Storch. Later, Blige heard the song that her brother Bruce Miller, Asiah the Continent and Luchi Lodge created the lyrics and melody to and decided on recording her vocals.
American singer Mary J. Blige began her career as a backing vocalist for Uptown Records in the early 1990s. In a career spanning more than thirty years, she has released 14 studio albums and 83 singles—including more than 20 as a featured artist. The “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” has sold an estimated of over 100 million records worldwide, and over 20 million in the United States alone. Billboard ranked Blige as the 18th Greatest Billboard 200 Women of all time, the 45th Greatest Hot 100 Women of all time and 88th Greatest Artist of all time.
"Real Love" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige from her debut studio album, What's the 411? (1992). It was written and produced by Cory Rooney and Mark Morales. The song samples Audio Two's 1987 song "Top Billin'", and was issued as the album's second single on July 28, 1992. It became Blige's first top-10 hit, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rhythmic charts and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 4, 1992. Rolling Stone included "Real Love" in their list of "500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021 at number 327. This song was based off of real life experiences.
My Life is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on November 29, 1994, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's battling with both drugs and alcohol, as well as being in an abusive relationship. Unlike her debut, What's the 411? (1992), Blige contributed lyrics to fourteen of the album's tracks, making it her most introspective and personal album at the time. Similar to her debut album, My Life features vast production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.
"I Changed My Mind" is a song by American R&B recording artist Keyshia Cole, recorded for her debut album, The Way It Is (2005). It was written by the singer along with John Legend and Kanye West, while production on the track was helmed by the latter. Released on November 9, 2004 as the lead single from the album, it was mildly successful commercially, peaking at number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
"As" is a song written and performed by American singer and musician Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. It reached number 36 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart. The song gets its name from the first word of its lyrics.
"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. In addition, the song also features a sample of the song "Queen Bitch," a track from Kim's debut album Hard Core (1996), co-written by Carlos Broady and Nashiem Myrick. "I Can Love You" was released as the second single from Share My World in the US, where it reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Everything" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Blige's third album, Share My World (1997). The song contains samples from "You Are Everything" (1971) by American soul group The Stylistics and "The Payback" (1973) by American singer James Brown, also incorporating elements from "Sukiyaki" (1961) by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto. Due to the inclusion of the samples, Brown, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, Linda Creed, Thom Bell, John Starks, and Fred Wesley are also credited as songwriters.
"I'm Going Down" is a song written and produced by Norman Whitfield, and performed by Rose Royce in 1976. It is from the film Car Wash and is featured on its soundtrack. In 1994, it was covered by Mary J. Blige.
"Love No Limit" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was co-written by Kenny Greene and Dave "Jam" Hall for her debut album, What's the 411? (1992), while production was overseen by Hall. Released as the album's fourth and final single, the song became a top five hit, reaching number-five on the US R&B singles chart, and peaked at number forty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Hall has stated in interviews, that he wanted to give the song an urban, hip-hop feel to a much more jazzy sound, when it was created.
"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 (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.
"25/8" is a song by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Crystal Johnson, Al Sherrod Lambert, and Eric Hudson for her tenth studio album, My Life II... The Journey Continues (2011), while production was handled by Blige and the latter. An R&B and soul song, "25/8" is built on drum splashes and a fluttering flute, and samples from B. T. Express's rendition of "Now That We Found Love", written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. Lyrically, it features the female protagonist expressing her need to have more than 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to spend time with her love interest.
Think Like a Man Too is the first soundtrack album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige and serves as the soundtrack from the film of the same name. The soundtrack album was released on June 17, 2014, by Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from The-Dream and Pharrell Williams, while production was handled by Rodney Jerkins, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Pharrell Williams, Pop & Oak, Jerry Duplessis, and Ronald "Flippa" Colson, among others.
"Love Falls Over Me" is a song by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was written by Tamia along with Warren Felder, Alicia Renee Williams, and Andrew Wansel for her sixth studio album Love Life (2015), while production was helmed by Felder and Wansel under their production moniker Pop & Oak. A sensual electro R&B song that has the singer gushing over the man who fills in her blanks, it was released as the album's third single on November 4, 2015. Pushed by several commissioned dance remixes that were produced by DJs Bobby Blanco, Desperados, and Stonebridge, it reached number 21 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
"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 " 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 " 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.
"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 as a digital single on May 8, 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 as a single on August 8, 2019, and peaked at number 12 on the US Adult R&B Songs.
