by Laura Hageman

Created on: May 27, 2008

I have always know Mary J. Blige as a rapper and within the past couple of years I have seen her performances on various award shows where she was singing Hip Hop. As it turns out Mary can really sing. She has sold more than 40 million albums around the world. She has been nominated for more than 25 Grammy's winning 8 and she has even been given a World Music Legends Award for her gift of combining both Hip Hop and Soul music.

Mary J. Blige signed with Uptown Records in 1989 after she recorded a demo at the mall. Her mother's boyfriend met with a representative of the recording company and the rest was history. Mary worked with Sean Puffy Combs in 1991 during the makings of her debut album, "What's the 411?"

Blige's debut album sold over three million copies. She was a major force in bringing Hip Hop to the forefront. She had six singles released and most of them reached the Top 10 on the R&B charts. She recorded a remix album to prolong the album's success in 1993.

The next year she released her second album "My Life" and her third album "Share My World" soon followed. Her working relationship with Combs ended and she began working with the greats Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis along with R Kelly."Share My World" had four hit singles including "I Can Love You" and "Everything" helping it turn quadruple platinum.

Mary's fourth album entitled simply "Mary" was a change from her other albums. This one was more soulful and contemporary. "Mary" had a compilation of songs recorded with various famous artists including Elton John, George Michael, Aretha Franklin, and Eric Clapton. Mary re-released the album within the same year 1999 in order to make a double disc set.

By 2001 Blige became more familiar to fans of several genres and had her first number one hit on the Billboard Top 100 with "Family Affair" which was the first single off her fifth album "No More Drama." The album sold more than 2 million copies and was re-released in 2002 with various changes made including three songs and its cover. It sold another 5 million copies. By the summer of 2002 a compilation cd of her best works were released.

Since 2002 Mary released three more albums that produced excellent sales. She remains one of the most respected and honored Hip Hop and Soul singers to date. She continues to be nominated for many awards and continues to rake in the numbers of sales which has earned the respect of many. In the midst of her singing career Blige has tapped into an acting career. She has developed a steady career in both fields of entertainment and will continue to do so.

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