Share My World | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 22, 1997 | |||
Studio | The Hit Factory (New York City) Battery Studios Chicago Trax The Chicago Recording Company (Chicago, Illinois) Flyte Tyme Studios (Edina, Minnesota) The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California) | |||
Genre | R&B [1] | |||
Length | 68:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Mary J. Blige chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Share My World | ||||
|
Share My World is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her first album where she serves as an executive producer, alongside Steve Stoute, who also shared executive producer credits on the album.
Guest appearances are made by hip hop and R&B stars such as Lil' Kim, Nas, The LOX, George Benson, Roy Ayers and R. Kelly. The album was released to generally positive reviews from most music critics, and earned Blige numerous accolades and nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album in 1998. The album became her first to chart in the top ten internationally, including Canada, Sweden and the UK, while it entered the top forty in countries such as New Zealand, Germany and France.
It is certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for excess of three million copies shipped in the US. [2]
Share My World marked several personal and professional changes in Blige’s life and career. Following the departure of label head Andre Harrell the year before, Blige defected from Uptown Records in favor of its MCA parent. Meanwhile, she severed professional ties with long-time producer, manager and mentor Sean "Puffy" Combs shortly before the production of Share My World began. His absence was filled with a bevy of high-profile producers, such as: Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Bryce Wilson and R. Kelly. The end result produced an album that was less entrenched in the hip hop soul of her first two albums, and replaced with a style that was more aligned with R&B.
During the making and run of her second album My Life (1994), Blige had reportedly experienced clinical depression, while also battling drug and alcohol addiction, and enduring an often turbulent relationship with K-Ci Hailey — all of which heavily influenced the dark mood of that album. [3] [4] In late 1996, however, Blige reportedly made a concerted effort to clean up her life and subsequently found herself in more positive frame of mind while recording Share My World, which influenced the albums noticeably lighter mood.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Chicago Tribune | [6] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [8] |
Music Week | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
Spin | 8/10 [12] |
USA Today | [13] |
The Village Voice | A− [14] |
Alex Henderson of AllMusic wrote in his review, "Her strongest and most confident effort up to that point, Share had much more character, personality, and honesty than most of the assembly line fare dominating urban radio in 1997. For all their slickness, emotive cuts like "Get to Know You Better," "Love Is All We Need," and "Keep Your Head" left no doubt that Blige was indeed a singer of depth and substance. Although high tech, the production of everyone from R. Kelly (with whom she duets on the inviting "It's On") and Babyface to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis doesn't come across as forced or robotic, but, in fact, is impressively organic." [15] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone commended Blige's transition from sound to singing, writing that "On Share My World even Blige's harshest critics will have to concede that she's moved beyond sound to real singing. Listen to "Seven Days," "Missing You" and the already-classic "Not Gon' Cry" (also on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack), and you hear Blige's signature ache married to newfound technique. There's shading, depth and control in her vocals now." [16]
Steve Jones of USA Today said the songs "run the usual gamut of love themes, but it's Blige's powerful, emotional deliveries and street sensibility that separate her from the competition." [13] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "Blige is a diva for her own time. As befits her hip hop ethos, she's never soft if often vulnerable, and as befits her hip hop aesthetic, she plays her natural vocal cadences for melodic signature and sometimes hook. She redefines the New York accent for the '90s. And she's taken two straight follow-ups to the next level." [14] Jonathan Bernstein from Entertainment Weekly was more critical, finding Share My World "uneven" and the songwriting "meandering and half finished." [8] Tom Moon later wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the record displayed "Blige's hit-song savvy but fewer memorable performances" than previous albums. [11] The Sydney Morning Herald critic Bernard Zuel found that "the well-stocked cupboard here (18 songs) is full of lush settings and beats which suggest a little action, even if they are more supine than fly-time [...] Lyrically, this is your typical R&B deadzone with many of the raps heading nowhere fast and Mary J. having not much to say beyond love me/stay with me/come back to me." [17]
Ceremony | Category | Result |
---|---|---|
25th Annual American Music Awards | Favorite Soul/R&B Album | Won |
25th Annual American Music Awards | Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist | Nominated |
40th Grammy Awards | Best R&B Album | Nominated |
Soul Train Music Awards | Best R&B/Soul Album – Female | Nominated |
Soul Train Music Awards | Best R&B/Soul Single – Female (for "Everything") | Nominated |
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards | Best R&B/Soul Album | Won |
NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Female Artist | Nominated |
For the Billboard issue dated May 10, 1997, Share My World debuted at number one on both the US Billboard 200 and R&B Albums chart with sales of 240,000 copies, marking Blige's first official number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart. [18] The album had ended the four-week stint of Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G., which was released posthumously five weeks earlier.
In addition to debuting number one in the US, the album also debuted in the top ten in countries such as Canada, Sweden and the UK. The album also reached the top forty in France, Germany and New Zealand.
Share My World was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of three million copies in the US. As of December 2009, the album has since sold 2.8 million copies domestically. [19]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" |
|
| 1:24 |
2. | "I Can Love You" (featuring Lil' Kim) | R. Jerkins | 4:46 | |
3. | "Love Is All We Need" (featuring Nas) | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 4:14 | |
4. | "Round and Round" |
|
| 4:24 |
5. | "Share My World (Interlude)" |
|
| 0:30 |
6. | "Share My World" |
| R. Jerkins | 5:07 |
7. | "Seven Days" | Malik Pendleton | Pendleton | 5:09 |
8. | "It's On" (featuring R. Kelly) | Kelly | Kelly | 4:42 |
9. | "Thank You Lord (Interlude)" |
| R. Jerkins | 0:44 |
10. | "Missing You" | Babyface | Babyface | 4:16 |
11. | "Everything" |
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 4:59 |
12. | "Keep Your Head" |
|
| 3:48 |
13. | "Can't Get You Off My Mind" (featuring The LOX) |
| R. Jerkins | 4:39 |
14. | "Get to Know You Better" | Bryce Wilson | Wilson | 4:32 |
15. | "Searching" (featuring Roy Ayers) |
|
| 5:05 |
16. | "Our Love" | James Mtume | 5:21 | |
17. | "Not Gon' Cry" | Babyface | Babyface | 4:54 |
Total length: | 68:34 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
18. | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | Mtume | 2:57 | |
Total length: | 71:31 |
Notes
Sample credits
|
|
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [39] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [40] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [41] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [42] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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", 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.
What's the 411? is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. Other producers and songwriters included DeVante Swing, Tony Dofat, Dave Hall, Mark Morales and Mark "Cory" Rooney. The resulting music covered hip hop soul, contemporary R&B, and new jack swing styles.
No More Drama is the fifth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on August 28, 2001, by MCA Records.
Love & Life is the sixth studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was released by Geffen Records on August 26, 2003. The album marked Blige's debut on the Geffen label, following the absorption of her former record company MCA Records. In addition, it saw her reuniting with Sean "Diddy" Combs, executive producer of her first two studio albums What's the 411? (1992) and My Life (1994), who wrote and executive produced most of Love & Life with his Bad Boy in-house production team The Hitmen, including Mario Winans, D-Dot, and Stevie J.
Mary is the fourth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released August 17, 1999, on MCA Records. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 239,000 copies in its first week. It spent 57 weeks on the chart and produced five charting singles. Upon its release, Mary received acclaim from music critics. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of two million units in the United States.
The Breakthrough is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was released by Geffen Records on December 20, 2005. Initially expected to be released in 2006, it switched release dates with Blige's first greatest hits album Reflections (2006) after fruitful collaborations with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Bryan-Michael Cox, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, Cool & Dre, Ron Fair, and will.i.am, prompted Blige and her label to shift material from Reflections to The Breakthrough.
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 15 studio albums and 83 singles—including more than 20 as a featured artist. The "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" has sold an estimate of over 100 million records worldwide, and over 20 million in the United States alone. Billboard ranked Blige as the 18th Greatest Billboard 200 Woman of all time, the 45th Greatest Hot 100 Woman of all time and 88th Greatest Artist of all time.
Unpredictable is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and actor Jamie Foxx. It was released on December 20, 2005, by J Records. The album was supported by four singles: "Extravaganza" featuring Kanye West, the title track "Unpredictable" featuring Ludacris, "DJ Play a Love Song" featuring Twista, and "Can I Take U Home".
Todd Smith is the eleventh studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was released on April 11, 2006 by Def Jam Recordings. It includes collaborations with Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell, Juelz Santana, Teairra Mari, Jamie Foxx, Ginuwine, Mary J. Blige, 112, Mary Mary, Ryan Toby and Freeway. Producers on the project include Pharrell, Scott Storch, Bink!, Shea Taylor, Drumma Boy, Keezo Kane and Trackmasters.
Reflections (A Retrospective) is the first greatest hits album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released in Europe on December 1, 2006, and in the United States on December 12 by Geffen Records. The album hasn't been certified by the RIAA but has sold 900,000 (according to the December 2009 Billboard magazine issue) copies in the United States. The album has also sold an estimated 140,000 in the United Kingdom despite only reaching a peak of number forty—this was due to consistent sales of 40k+ over the Christmas weeks. As of May 25, 2008 worldwide sales are 1,381,376.
My Life is the second 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 extensive production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.
Growing Pains is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. An R&B album that was released on December 18, 2007, by Geffen Records, it debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 629,000 copies in its first week, and reached number one in January 2008. Growing Pains was ranked number 29 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007 and was eventually certified Platinum by RIAA.
"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.
"Love Is All We Need" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige, with a guest rap from Nas. It was written by Blige, Nas, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis for Blige's third studio album, Share My World (1997), while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The song contains a sample of the song "Moonchild" (1985) as performed by American singer Rick James. With its more buoyant tone, it stood in conspicuous contrast to much of the more dark-rooted material featured on Blige's earlier albums.
"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.
Stronger with Each Tear is the ninth studio album from American R&B and soul singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The album was released in the US on December 21, 2009, under Blige's own imprint, Matriarch Records.
My Life II... The Journey Continues is the tenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mary J. Blige, released on November 21, 2011, by Geffen Records and Matriarch Records. Titled as the sequel and serving as a thematic extension to her 1994 breakthrough album My Life, which portrayed a dark period in Blige's personal life, it talks about the themes of struggle, heartbreak, and strength while reflecting the growth and evolution she had experienced since the release of its predecessor.
The London Sessions is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was released on November 24, 2014, by Capitol Records and Matriarch Records. On October 26, 2014, the album leaked in its entirety to the Internet, with Billboard calling it "superb" and "objectively her best since 2005's The Breakthrough".
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.
True to Self is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bryson Tiller. It was released on May 26, 2017, by RCA Records. Recording sessions took place from 2016 to 2017, while the production was handled by several producers from Teddy Walton, J-Louis, Mahxie, NES, Boi-1da, Frank Dukes, Illmind, Hollywood Hot Sauce, Keyz, Soundz, T-Minus and Wondagurl, among others.