As a teen, she paid to record a demo at a local mall, cutting a rendition of Anita Baker’s Quiet Storm classic “Caught Up in the Rapture,” a Top Ten R&B single from the 1980s. She got her first break thanks to Jeff Redd.īlige was “never afraid to sing,” according to one relative. That sound used to drive me nuts… something about ‘my life in the sunshine,’ that record made me feel like I could have something.” Ayers’ song eventually served as the source material for My Life ‘s title track. It made me forget that we lived where we lived. “That was the first music as a child that stuck with me.
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“There was something in it that cracked open everything for me,” she says. Much of My Life is built around samples or interpolations of classic R&B from the 1970s and early 1980s: Barry White’s “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me,” Curtis Mayfield’s “Give Me Your Love,” Al Green’s “Free at Last,” the Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long.” One song in particular, Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” had particular resonance for Blige when she was young. Seventies soul served as an escape hatch. “So you turn to substance abuse, whatever makes you feel good… we went to the pier… and we would drink our pain away.” 2. “You turn to anything that can numb you from feeling sad, from feeling depressed, from feeling hatred, from feeling self-hatred,” Blige tells the camera. And I carried my own pain.”īefore singing became a viable career option, Blige says substance abuse was one of her primary escapes from her day-to-day life. I carried people all over the environment’s pain. “I think people don’t understand about the families that live in the projects, is that it’s like a prison… people are just suffering…. “I never smiled when I was a teenager,” Blige explains. The My Life documentary foregrounds that emotional distress. Throughout her long career, Blige has sung repeatedly about overcoming obstacles and transcending trauma. Blige was exposed to violence, alcohol, and drugs at an early age.
But much of the film’s heft comes from Blige herself, who is as frank about her struggles on camera as she is in her songs.Īmazon Studios 1. Henson), and fellow artists ( Method Man, Nas, Alicia Keys) to talk about the singer’s journey from the projects to the pinnacle of the music industry. Diddy), prominent record executives ( Andre Harrell, Jimmy Iovine), famous actors and actresses ( Tyler Perry, Taraji P. The My Life documentary, courtesy of Amazon Studios (it’s now available on the Amazon Prime streaming service), enlists Blige’s family members, former collaborators (Thompson, P. As she puts it on the album closer “Be Happy,” “how can I love somebody else if I can’t love myself enough to know when it’s time to let go?” She made her soul references more flagrant - prominent samples of soothing R&B litter the album, offering a guiding rail for older listeners - even as her writing became more pointed and blunt: Much of My Life plays like a therapy session, as Blige confesses crippling dependence and tries to coach herself into healthier ways of thinking. Diddy and Chucky Thompson on My Life ‘s 17 tracks. Blige sees My Life not only as the moment she “started speaking to my fans” but also as “the place where I survived.” That narrative of survival, of walking through the fire only to emerge stronger on the other side, has been central to her career ever since few performers are as open about their struggles and their psychic toll as Blige.įollowing the success of her 1992 debut, What’s the 411?, Blige tightened her creative circle, working primarily with producers P. But there’s one project that has particular importance for her: “I have 13 albums, but my second, My Life, is my most important,” she says in a new documentary commemorating the LP, originally released in 1994. Blige has a long, illustrious career, riddled with Top Ten hits, million-selling albums, Grammys, and Oscar nominations. Blige's 'My Life' Doc: Streaming on Amazon Prime Blige's 'My Life' Doc: Streaming on Amazon Prime Mary J.
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