The Official Mary J. Blige Thread

[explodingbird]

So, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul needs herself a thread in case we have a bevy of her fans about. Do we>?

Known for her powerful, emotional, raw vocals, her diva status, her fiesty attitude, and her fusion of R&B, hip-hop, and soul music, Mary's basically a legend in music. No More Drama, All That I Can Say, Not Gon' Cry, Be Without You, Family Affair, Deep Inside, Rainy Dayz, Real Love, and I'm Goin' Down are among her most well-known and successful singles, although there's more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_J._Blige

Any fans here aside from me? I love me some Mary, although I'm n ot a fan of her first two albums. Share My World was PERFECTION, tough, and everything following was awesome (well... Love & Life was really good, but not great).

[explodingbird]

Man, the woman's got Grammy nominations out the ass and still no discussion? Poor Mary J. I still love you, girl. I'll hold out hope for the thread to gain a small sort of life to it.

So, to start us off... I'm listening to her Share My World album right now. I don't like it at the moment as much as I used to, but it's still miles better than the first two albums. Our Love is pretty, even though her harmonies kind of... grate.

[..:Hot:Like:Wow:..]

IMHO, she is way over rated.

[explodingbird]

I think her early albums are - What's the 411? and My Life are definitely not as great, to me, as people say. I find them obnoxious and boring. Share My World is really good, though, as is Mary - even though I normally don't like the sort of sound that album has. No More Drama... I dunno. But Love & Life, while not great, was definitely good and underrated. I think the only albums I really agree with others on are Mary and The Breakthrough, which is easily her best.

Too bad her songs are a bit forgettable sometimes, but I don't listen to her as often as someone like, say, Ayu, and therefore don't have her as drilled into my head.

[Scentless Apprentice]

I love Mary J. Be Without You and Enough Cryin is my favorites. Family Affair was a good one too.

[moombasista]

Out Today



Reflections - A Retrospective

1. Reflections (I Remember)
2. We Ride (I See the Future)
3. You Know
4. King & Queen
5. No More Drama
6. Family Affair
7. Real Love
8. No One Will Do
9. Be Without You
10. I'm Going Down
11. 911
12. Not Gon' Cry
13. My Life '06
14. Be Happy
15. I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By [Razor Sharp Mix]

(ew)

[bondingo]

The first song that I ever heard by her was Family Affair. I hated it at first, but it grew on me and I like it now. Rainy Dayz (the one with Ja Rule, right?) was a really good song. And I completely forgot about her until Be Without You, which I love. Those extremely high notes that she belts near the end sound amazing, and totally complete the song. Other than that, I don't really know what else she's done. I may have heard more songs by her, but I just didn't know it was her who sung them. Anyways, I think calling her the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" might be a little extreme. I'd say Whitney should be given that title, despite her slip-ups in recent years

[Jayee19]

Since when did Whitney ever sing "Hip Hop Soul"? That's definitely Mary's title. Whitney is just Queen, period ^_^.

I grew up on Mary J. Blige. She has so much passion, and has a fantastic voice. And her body is insane! It's inspiring to see what she's been through, and how far she has come, both physically and vocally. My favorite songs of the moment are "I'm Not Gonna Cry", "I'm Going Down" "No More Drame", "911", "You're All I Need to Get By" (with Method Man), "I Found My Everything" and "About You".

[explodingbird]

Originally Posted by moombasista

Out Today



Reflections - A Retrospective

1. Reflections (I Remember)
2. We Ride (I See the Future)
3. You Know
4. King & Queen
5. No More Drama
6. Family Affair
7. Real Love
8. No One Will Do
9. Be Without You
10. I'm Going Down
11. 911
12. Not Gon' Cry
13. My Life '06
14. Be Happy
15. I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By [Razor Sharp Mix]

(ew)

I forgot that album even came out until I saw it at work today. December's releases were looking so skimpy (Taylor Hicks, Fantasia, Ciara, Gwen - none of whom i particularly care for THAT much) compared to August/September/October tht it kinda slipped my mind.

I want!

That being said, where the hell is All That I Can say? Where's Love @ 1st Sight and Rainy Dayz? Oh, Mary. Oh well... four new tracks is enough for me.