Mary J. Blige - My Life (CD)

Autobiographical Smash Hit!

By Eric Halcon  Aug 11, 2007

Pros: Read Between The Lines

Cons: Almost none

Mary J. Blige would never earn the title of "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" for no reason at all. Late in 1994, MCA Records released her sophomore album simply called "My Life", which frankly chronicled her experiences in life and love in... general. Hailed as one of her best works to date, "My Life" hit the streets in a time when Blige was also fighting her demons. Unlike her upbeat debut album, "What's the 411?", her next effort carried a darker, funkier and more serious tone. The success of the album could be largely attributed to the talented production team of Andre Harrell and Sean "Puffy" Combs, who would later pursue a career as a rap artist in the late 90s. "Be Happy" became the first single to be culled from the album and performed well on the charts. Blige, who was recovering from a failed relationship with K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci, apparently poured her heart and soul in the making of this album. "You Bring Me Joy" and "I Love You" saw the light of day as singles and performed modestly in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1995. The track "I'm Going Down" is actually a remake of Rose Royce's hit single penned by Norman Whitfield in the 1970s. Candid, raw and sincere, "My Life" has been touted by both critics and fans as Blige's best work to date. It is even noted as one of the Top 500 albums of the Rolling Stone Magazine recently. Now that popular music is driven by fancy clothes and videos, nothing beats outright honesty in one's work. You can count Blige and her life to do just that. Read more Less