Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971) is an African American R&B, soul, and hip hop soul singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, record producer, actress, and hip hop icon who has sold more than 40 million records worldwide. She is widely known as the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul,” and has also received over 26 Grammy Award nominations for her work.

Early in her career, Blige's gritty voice earned her comparisons to soul singers as Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin; however her artistic evolution and commercial success throughout the years have allowed her to exert her own influence over a new generation of artists including R&B/funk singer-songwriter Amerie and Grammy-nominated soul singer Keyshia Cole, Fantasia, and the eleven-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys.

In 1989 she was signed to the Uptown Label, becoming the company's youngest and first female artist. Upon signing to Uptown, Blige's early years there were dormant, as the label continued to focus most of its attention on its more established singers.

She released her first album, “What's the 411?,” in 1992, with Sean "Puffy" Combs largely overseeing the project.

On November 29, 1994, Uptown Records released Blige's second album, My Life. The album was again overseen by Combs who co-produced all but one of the albums tracks, and took over as Blige's manager. Unlike What's the 411?,”Blige co-wrote a large body of the material, basing it on her personal life.

But it was her fifth album, No More Drama, released in 2001 that gave Blige her first top hit. The album's first single, "Family Affair" became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks.

Blige's new album, Growing Pains, was released on December 18, 2007 and sold 629,000 copies in its first week. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and at #1 on the Billboard R&B album chart.

At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008 Blige was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, for “Just Fine;” for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals,” for the duet “Disrespectful,” with Chaka Khan; and for Best Gospel Performance, for the duet “Never Gonna Break My Faith,” with Aretha Franklin, featuring The Harlem Boys Choir. She won the latter two.

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