A Look at The Career of Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige was born January 11, 1971. She has been labeled the Queen of Hip Hop/ Soul. Her amazing talent has seen her achieve many heights including selling well over forty million albums. As she approaches the release of her latest album "Growing Pains" on December 18th, it is a great time to take a look at one of R&B's greatest female singers of all time.

It was an impromptu performance of an Anita Baker song that got it all start for Blige. The cassette tape of her recording of "Rapture" at a local mall eventually got into the hands of Uptown Records. They eventually signed Blige and her musical career was ready to take off. Blige teamed up with music mogul Sean "Puffy" Combs to produce her first album "What's the 411." The album is considered by many to be a classic, producing such hits as "Real Love" and "You Remind Me." The album went on to gain multi platinum success and made Blige a household name.

Blige's next album "My Life" would solidify her as a music superstar. The album produced hits like cover "I'm going Down," "You Bring Me Joy," and "I Love You." The success Blige was having led to several other opportunities including recording music for soundtracks like "Waiting to Exhale," and "New York Undercover." The album would go on to sell millions. Despite the success she was having, her personal life was anything but successful.

Mary J. Blige spent much of her early career dealing with bouts of drug abuse, depression and alcoholism. She has admitted these faults and worked hard to over come such challenges. Blige was also in a long abusive relationship with K-Ci Hailey lead singer of the group Jodeci. This tumultuous relationship finally came to an end in 1997 but not before years of abuse according to Blige. Since then she has kept most of her relationships private including her marriage to music industry executive Martin Kendu.

Blige's career in music continued to blossom. Her albums "Share My World", "Mary," and "Love and Life," all achieved platinum status. It was 2001's "No More Drama," that took her career to new heights. She earned her 1st number one hit from that album, "Family Affair." She later used the Young and the Restless theme in a Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis production called "No More Drama." The single symbolized a change in Blige's career that has been evident ever since.

Blige is not slowing down anytime soon. Her last album "The Breakthrough" had the biggest first week album sells of any in her career. It was considered by many to be the best album of the year. Now with her new album, Growing Pains, Mary J. Blige is set to take her career to even bigger heights. With a total grasp on her life Mary J. Blige is set to continue to grow to higher and higher levels.