(www.amazon.co.uk)
Happy birthday Mary!! Mary is 49 y'all! The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Queen of R&B, etc. How time flies! I remembered back in the day, listening to some Mary, reminiscing about the ups and downs of life, not realizing at the time, she was going through hell herself. Life imitating art.
Mary J. Blige was born on January 11th, 1971, in Yonkers, New York to Thomas Blige, a jazz musician and Cora, a nurse. She also has an older sister LaTonya and brother, Bruce Miller. Mary also spent time in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Mary went through hellish teenage years. She was molested by a so-called family friend and even endured sexual harassment from her peers in school. That would explain why she turned to alcoholism, drugs and even had sex, trying to forget the experiences she had. These experiences also played a major role in her songs later on.
Mary J. Blige was born on January 11th, 1971, in Yonkers, New York to Thomas Blige, a jazz musician and Cora, a nurse. She also has an older sister LaTonya and brother, Bruce Miller. Mary also spent time in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Mary went through hellish teenage years. She was molested by a so-called family friend and even endured sexual harassment from her peers in school. That would explain why she turned to alcoholism, drugs and even had sex, trying to forget the experiences she had. These experiences also played a major role in her songs later on.
(www.pinterest.com)
Mary's singing career started at a recording booth in Galleria Mall in White Plains, NY, eventually ended up with Uptown Records, under Andre Harrell who met with Mary in 1989. Gotta give props to her mom's boyfriend for helping her achieve her dreams. In 1992, she made her first album What's The 411? Produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs or Diddy or whatever he called himself these days, the album reached multi-platinum, with hits such as Real Love and You Remind Me, among others (Wikipedia). What makes this album so remarkable was her style of singing which was much grittier than say, Anita Baker or Aretha Franklin. Mary even combined hip-hop and R&B to create a new sound. Yet it was powerful and in many ways relatable to listeners.
While she enjoyed the success of her first album, her personal demons continued to fester. She continued with her drinking and smoking cocaine while creating successful albums in the process. I guess the saying goes, money can't buy happiness. And I believed that Mary didn't have any support in the industry hence the cocaine and alcohol use. Plus, her experience with sexual abuse didn't help matters either.
While she enjoyed the success of her first album, her personal demons continued to fester. She continued with her drinking and smoking cocaine while creating successful albums in the process. I guess the saying goes, money can't buy happiness. And I believed that Mary didn't have any support in the industry hence the cocaine and alcohol use. Plus, her experience with sexual abuse didn't help matters either.
(www.flipboard.com)
Mary decided to turn her life around and appropriately named her 2001 album, No More Drama, which should her growth and taking ownership of her life. She was even married to Kendu Isaacs in 2003, who was also her manager but they divorced in 2016. With the divorce came the drama, almost making Mary broke. Still, she was able to find success in her music and even in movies. Her latest movie was Netflix's Mudbound, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (I don't understand why they just can't say, best-supporting actress) and Original Song in both the Golden Globes and The Oscars in 2018.
Mary is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. She went through hell in her personal life yet managed to succeed. That's why she's so relatable. She experienced trials and tribulations and expressed herself in her music, allowing herself to be vulnerable in the process. Her hard work also paid off. She has won Grammys, plus other awards. So happy belated birthday Mary, and I wish you more success in the coming years!!
No comments:
Post a Comment