In 1992, Blige released her debut album What's The 411?. The album sold 3.4 million copies on the strength of singles You Remind Me, Real Love, Reminisce, Sweet Thing, and Love No Limit. The album pioneered a new genre known as Hip-Hop Soul and is credited with influencing the marriage of Hip-Hop and R&B.
In 1994, Blige released her sophomore album My Life. Blige wrote or co-wrote fourteen of the seventeen album tracks. Supported by singles Be Happy, Mary Jane (All Night Long), I'm Goin' Down, and You Bring Me Joy, the album sold over three million copies and was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA in 1996. It has since been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Not Gon' Cry, a 1996 single written and produced by Babyface for Waiting To Exhale soundtrack (1995), peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Blige's highest charting single of the 1990s. The same year, Blige won her first Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for her performance on I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By by Method Man.
On April 22, 1997, Blige released her third album, Share My World on MCA Records. Blige cut ties with producers Sean Combs and Chucky Thompson and worked with the likes of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Rodney Jerkins, Babyface, R. Kelly, and Poke & Tone. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 240,000 copies, Blige's first to do so. Supported by singles Love Is All We Need, I Can Love You, Everything, Missing You, and Seven Days. Share My World was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA and sold nearly 4 million copies in U.S.
In Summer 1998, Blige embarked on the Share My World Tour, which resulted in a Gold-certified live album released later that year, simply titled The Tour. The album spawned one single, Misty Blue.
On August 17, 1999, Blige's fourth album, titled Mary was released. It marked a departure from her more familiar hip hop-oriented sound; this set featured a more earthy, whimsical, and adult contemporary-tinged collection of songs. 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 four charting singles: All That I Can Say, Deep Inside, Give Me You, and Your Child. Though not as successful as prior releases, the album still sold 2.1 million copies in the U.S. and was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album.
On August 28, 2001, MCA released Blige's fifth studio album, No More Drama. The album's first single, Family Affair (produced by Dr. Dre) became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. Two other singles, Dance For Me and No More Drama were released, with the latter becoming a Top 20 hit. On January 29, 2002, the album re-released and featured three new songs, one being Rainy Dayz, which was released as a single and became another Top 20 hit for Blige. No More Drama has since sold 3.2 million copies in the U.S. and 5 million copies worldwide.
In 2003, Blige won her second Grammy (and first as a lead artist) for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "He Think I Don't Know".
On August 26, 2003, Blige's sixth album Love & Life was released on Geffen Records (which had absorbed MCA Records.) Blige reunited with producer Sean Combs for the album. Despite the album debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and becoming Blige's fourth consecutive UK top ten album, Love & Life became Blige's then lowest selling album selling 1 million copies. Still, it was nominated for Grammy Best Contemporary R&B Album.
Geffen Records released Blige's seventh studio album, The Breakthrough on December 20, 2005. For the album, Blige collaborated with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Rodney Jerkins, will.i.am, Bryan-Michael Cox, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq, Cool and Dre, and Dre & Vidal. It debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Selling 727,000 copies in its first week, it became the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in SoundScan history. The official lead single, Be Without You peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking at number one on the R&B chart for a record-setting fifteen consecutive weeks. In March 2017, Billboard Magazine ranked "Be Without You" as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop Song of all time. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Other singles included Top 40 Hit Enough Cryin, Top Five R&B song Take Me As I Am, and UK Top Three Hit One. The Breakthrough won the Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2007.
In December 2006, a compilation called Reflections (A Retrospective) was released. It contained many of Blige's greatest hits and four new songs, including the worldwide lead single We Ride (I See the Future). The album peaked at number nine in the U.S, selling over 170,000 copies in its first week, while reaching number forty in the UK. It has sold more than 1.6 million copies.
Blige's eighth studio album, Growing Pains, was released on December 18, 2007, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It sold 629,000 copies in its week and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album won Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2009. It spawned the Top 40 Hit Just Fine.
Blige's ninth studio album, Stronger with Each Tear, was released on December 21, 2009, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 332,000 units in its first week of release. The album had sold 726,100 copies in the United States by April 2010, and was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 6, 2011.
Blige was honored at the 2009 BET Honors Ceremony and was paid tribute by Anita Baker and Monica.
Blige's tenth studio album, My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1), was released in November 2011. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 156,000 copies in the first week; it was eventually certified Gold in 2012 and has sold 763,000 in the US.
A Mary Christmas, Blige's first holiday album, was released on October 15, 2013 through Matriarch and Verve Records. In early December, A Mary Christmas became Blige's 12th top ten album after it rose to #10 in its eighth week and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Think Like A Man Too, which serves as Blige's 12th studio album, was released on June 17, 2014. On Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the soundtrack album charted at number six, marking Blige's 16th top ten entry on the chart, tying her with Mariah Carey for the second-most top tens by a female artist.
Following her concert date at the Essence Festival, on July 9, 2014 it was announced Blige would move to London to experiment with a new sound for her new album. Blige spent a month in London recording her album in RAK Studios with a host of young British acts, including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith. Twelve new songs, co-written and recorded by the singer, were released on November 24, 2014 on an album entitled The London Sessions. The album received acclaim and was included on many Best Albums of 2014 lists. The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 and number one on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with 55,000 albums sold and 2,000 shifted in album-equivalent units. It became her 13th top ten entry on the Billboard 200 and her tenth number one entry on Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums.
Following a heavily publicized divorce from her husband and manager Kendu Isaacs, Blige released her thirteenth studio album Strength of a Woman on April 28, 2017. Supported by Urban AC hit singles Thick of It and U + Me (Love Lesson), Strength of a Woman debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 on the issue dated ending May 20, 2017, with 78,000 album-equivalent units, selling 72,000 standard copies in its first week. It became Blige's highest-charting album since 2009's Stronger with Each Tear, and her tenth top five entry on the chart.
In 2017, Blige starred in the period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees. Playing Florence Jackson, the matriarch of her family. For her performance in Mudbound, Blige was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received nominations for Best Original Song for Mighty River, becoming the first person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and original song in the same year.
On July 12, 2018, Blige released a new single, titled Only Love.
Intro / Mary J. Blige / The Tour
Mary J. Blige Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uh
[Missy Elliot]
Check it
As I grab my pad and pen and begin to talk from within
Oh God I'm hot as the water like a preacher who's sinned
I'm only human but
To only wait for my downfall but like a brick wall im too hard to brake
OK I do make mistakes but I'm the realest from the fake
That's why I'm the hardest to hate
Aaliyah baby girl I've learned to love those while ther still awake
Sleep Sleep
And prepare a place for those who are good in the projects and hood
Give to those who are misunderstood
I know like Lisa, Pac and Biggie and Jay and Pun are still No1
There will be more of us to come
I am a leader a teacher I gotta, like a single parent provider
Put in back those hip hop dividers
Like a preist with a back slider
I've sinned ut I win
And anyone we've lost in life from 9-11
We'll be sure to see again
[Mary J. Blige]
What you hear is not a test, I'm rocking to the beat [Repeat: x2]
See me and my crew, and my friends were gonna try to move our feet
See I am Mary Blige and I'll like to say hello
To the black to the white, the red and the brown, the purple and yellow
First you gotta
First you gotta
In this song, Mary J. Blige and Method Man rap about their respective lives while also paying tribute to the late Aaliyah, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Big Pun. Missy Elliot begins the first verse of the song with a declaration of her humanity and how the world has put her on a pedestal with the hopes of watching her fail. She acknowledges that although she makes mistakes like any other human being, she is still one of the realest in the game. Elliot goes on to express her desire to give back to the misunderstood communities such as the projects and hood, and notes that although there are several prominent figures who have passed away, they will never be forgotten.
Mary J. Blige, in her verse, introduces herself and her crew to the listeners, and welcomes people of all races and ethnicities to dance and have a good time with them. She sings, "First you gotta..." and trails off, perhaps implying that before one can join in on the party, there is some kind of "initiation" that must happen first.
Overall, the song seems to also serve as a reminder that while hip hop and rap may have evolved over the years, the legends who helped shape the genre will never be forgotten, their legacies living on across generations.
Line by Line Meaning
As I grab my pad and pen and begin to talk from within
I'm expressing myself through music, writing down my thoughts and feelings
Oh God I'm hot as the water like a preacher who's sinned
I have a lot of passion and energy, like a preacher who's committed a sin
I'm only human but
Despite my talent and fame, I am still a human being with flaws and weaknesses
The world has put me on a platform since the day I was born
I've been in the public eye from the moment I was born
To only wait for my downfall but like a brick wall im too hard to brake
People are waiting for my failure, but I'm strong and resilient like a brick wall
OK I do make mistakes but I'm the realest from the fake
I'm genuine and authentic, even though I'm not perfect
That's why I'm the hardest to hate
My authenticity makes it hard for people to dislike me
Aaliyah baby girl I've learned to love those while ther still awake
I appreciate and value those who are alive and present in the moment, like Aaliyah
Sleep Sleep
A reference to Aaliyah's song 'I Care 4 U', reminding us to cherish our loved ones while we still have them
And prepare a place for those who are good in the projects and hood
Honoring those who have worked hard and succeeded despite growing up in difficult circumstances
Give to those who are misunderstood
Supporting and giving back to those who are often overlooked or judged unfairly
I know like Lisa, Pac and Biggie and Jay and Pun are still No1
Recognizing and respecting the legacies of Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and Big Punisher
There will be more of us to come
Acknowledging that there will be more talented and influential artists to come
I am a leader a teacher I gotta, like a single parent provider
Recognizing her role as a leader and teacher, providing for others like a single parent
Put in back those hip hop dividers
Calling for unity and solidarity within the hip hop community
Like a preist with a back slider
Drawing a comparison to a priest who has sinned and repented, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and redemption
I've sinned ut I win
Acknowledging past mistakes, but still feeling proud of her accomplishments and successes
And anyone we've lost in life from 9-11
Remembering those lost in the September 11th attacks
We'll be sure to see again
Believing in the possibility of an afterlife and reunion with loved ones who have passed away
What you hear is not a test, I'm rocking to the beat [Repeat: x2]
Asserting her presence and passion for music
See me and my crew, and my friends were gonna try to move our feet
Inviting others to join in and dance to the music
See I am Mary Blige and I'll like to say hello
Introducing herself to the audience
To the black to the white, the red and the brown, the purple and yellow
Welcoming people of all races and backgrounds to her music and message
First you gotta
Leading into the chorus, encouraging listeners to follow along and dance
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARY J. BLIGE, JERRY DUPLESSIS, SEAN J. COMBS, ARDEN ALTINO, KENDU ISAACS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind