Mary J. Blige

When it comes to the prototypical urban songstress, there's no one who commands more respect than the legendary Mary J. Blige. New urban starlets such as Keyshia Cole, Beyoncé, and Alicia Keys have all named her as influences, and she's been the marquee name within female R&B for the past...

By Jonathan Cunningham

July 19, 2007

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

When it comes to the prototypical urban songstress, there's no one who commands more respect than the legendary Mary J. Blige. New urban starlets such as Keyshia Cole, Beyoncé, and Alicia Keys have all named her as influences, and she's been the marquee name within female R&B for the past 16 years. She's gone through her share of stages; remember thug Mary, Badboy affiliate and long-term love interest of K-Ci from Jodeci? Those days weren't all that pretty. Creatively, she was at an apex, but personally, she was going through drama. Bouts of drugs and alcohol have hampered Blige in the past, but like a real "in the streets" diva, she exposed listeners to all of it through her songs. Those who pay attention have seen Mary J. at her best and worst, but a portion of America has grown up listening to her and learning from her because of that as well. That's why it's impossible to consider anyone except Mary J. as the Queen of R&B. Even if you only became a fan halfway into her career, she's still got enough classic material in her repertoire to rock the Hard Rock all night long.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning New Times Broward-Palm Beach has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.