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Meet
Mary J. Blige, the Artist
By Steven G. Fullwood
Hip-Hop's reigning queen earns her crown as one of the 1990's preeminent
vocalists, with her latest and finest record to date, Mary. With a recording career that
spans four studio albums, one remix CD and one live joint, Blige comes of age on Mary.
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All 14 cuts deserve your ear. Blige reaches for, and sometimes achieves, perfection. She
moves through each song present, confident and accountable. Serving as the album's
executive producer, Blige sheds her glasses, removes the make-up and lets you see the
scars that shape her often grainy, distinctive contralto.
It's worth noting that the two most significant albums in
Blige's repertoire are My Life and Mary. My Life's love ambitions come to fruition on
Mary. Remember Blige singing "all I really want is to be happy?" On Mary, we
witness a burgeoning happiness completely absent from earlier efforts. The elusive love so
desperately sought after on My Life, is revisited on Mary's "Deep Inside," which
guest stars Elton John on piano. "Deep Inside" is a simple, gut-wrenching joint
glimpsed on her soulful, groundbreaking debut What's the 411? Perhaps she had to go the
way of Billie Holiday or Bessie Smith, and live the blues to fully appreciate her lovely
voice, indeed her life.
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The promise of jazz-infused "Love No Limit" is
fully realized on "The Love I Never Had," the album's emotional centerpiece. She
scats, croons, and seizes a spiritual space of empowerment. Never before has Blige
declared her right to love and exercise self-preservation. Where bitterness permeated
recent songs "Not Gon Cry" and "My Love," she evolves on "The
Love I Never Had."
Despite the appearance of heavyweights Aretha Franklin on "Don't Waste Your
Time," Eric Clapton on "Give Me You," K-CI Hailey on "Not
Lookin'," Lauryn Hill on "All That I Can Say," and Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis on "The Love I Never Had," make no mistake: this is Blige's show. Her
maturity shines brightly on Mary. It's a personal statement. One you should hear.M
October 1999
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