Mary J. Blige biography

NAME: Mary Jane Blige
OCCUPATION: Singer
BIRTH DATE: January 11, 1971 (Age: 41)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Bronx, New York
ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn


Synopsis

Mary J. Blige was born on January 11, 1971 in Bronx, New York. When a recording of the 17-year-old Blige singing karaoke booth came to the attention of Uptown Records, they put her under contract immediately. She sang backup until the 1992 release of her first solo album, What's the 411?, a record that re-defined modern soul. Blige has had several #1 Billboard hits, and she won a Grammy in 2009.

(born Jan. 11, 1971, Bronx, N.Y., U.S.) American singer-songwriter who has been called the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.

Blige's childhood was divided between Savannah, Ga., and a housing project in Yonkers, N.Y. Her early musical influences included singing in a Pentecostal church and listening to her mother's collection of soul records. When a recording of the 17-year-old Blige singing Anita Baker's “Caught Up in the Rapture” (made in a karaoke booth in a local shopping mall) came to the attention of Uptown Records in 1988, the rhythm-and-blues label put Blige, who had dropped out of high school, under contract. She sang backup for various artists until the 1992 release of her first solo album, What's the 411?, produced primarily by rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs (Diddy).

That album revealed the pain of Blige's childhood while presenting a unique sound that mixed classic soul with hip-hop and urban contemporary rhythm and blues, redefining soul music and influencing a generation of artists. Blige's glamorous but street-tough image softened over time; however, her music remained personal, emotional, and spiritual. Among Blige's host of hit singles are “Be Without You” (1994), “Not Gon' Cry” (1996), and “Take Me as I Am” (2005). Her hit albums include Share My World (1997) and Growing Pains (2008), both of which reached number one on the Billboard charts, and No More Drama (2001), Blige's fifth album, which presents an artist who is happy with the woman she has become. Her 2006 release, Reflections (2006), provides a retrospective of her work. Blige's 2008 tour with Jay-Z made her one of hip-hop's top-grossing live acts, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for best contemporary rhythm and blues album for Growing Pains.