“In too deep without imperfection/Not always good, but I stayed on my feet,” she sings, proving once again that she’s the master at moving on. Blige doesn’t regret the relationship, but, rather, feels fortunate to have survived it. The album’s staple “U + Me (Love Lesson)” is a sultry break-up anthem. On her 13th studio album, Strength Of A Woman, she bounces back from recent divorce drama with tracks such as “Glow Up,” “Thick Of It,” and “Love Yourself,” which all tap into the trend while maintaining Blige’s personal brand of soul. In 2017, Blige asserted her dominance, going toe-to-toe with trap-tinged R&B and pop music. It’s one of the more downtempo cuts on the album, but Blige still imbues it with the kind of soulful yearning that was usually reversed for the Marvin Gayes of the world. Swapping typical hip-hop breakbeats for samples like Guy’s “Goodbye Love” And DeBarge’s “Stay With Me,” producers Thompson and Puffy create the perfect backdrop for Blige’s hip-hop soul balladry on “Don’t Go,” a My Life classic. “The problem is for many years/I’ve lived my life publicly/And every time I find someone I like, gotta worry about/If it’s really me that they see,” she sings. Built around a piano loop from Elton John’s “Bennie And The Jets” (the music legend replayed the part himself for the recording), “Deep Inside” addresses all the people who wanted a piece of the singer. But on her fourth studio album, 1999’s, Mary, she realized you can give too much of yourself away. 20: Deep InsideĮven after seven years of soul-bearing music, Blige had barely scratched the surface when it came to revealing herself as an artist and a person.

The best Mary J Blige songs tell the story of her artistry – as revealed by these 20 essential tracks. From her early beginnings in the 90s to her continued impact on pop music through the 00s, and her victory lap in the 2010s, Mary J Blige is one of R&B’s brightest and most innovative vocalists.

Starting out as the artist who showed the mainstream how to successfully blend New Jack Swing into a more soulful brand of hip-hop-based R&B, Blige continued to evolve her sound with every decade, as others followed her lead.

She’s shared her world and given generously of herself over 13 studio albums, and remains a singular force in R&B. Blige has been a conduit for communal pain and healing. Over the course of her decades-spanning discography, Mary J.

Mary j blige greatest hits rar