music friday: mary j. blige
Friday, January 11, 2019
Happy 48th birthday to Mary J. Blige! She is still going strong ... if her 1992 debut What's the 411? arguably remains her best, she came close with the aptly-named The Breakthrough in 2005, and her most recent, 2017's Strength of a Woman, is no embarrassment. The sobriquet "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" might have been a promotional tool at first, but Blige made it real. She has had a record 23 Top Ten tracks on the Billboard Adult R&B charts. And she has maintained an acting career that is more than just a sideline, receiving an Oscar nomination for Mudbound. Here are some of her best:
"Real Love"
"I'm Goin' Down"
"I Can Love You"
"Family Affair"
"PMS"
I love how she's maintained a musical career that aged up with her fan base. Maybe her career even "grew out" with them, since she probably makes as much selling stuff to them on HSN as she does via music.
Posted by: Tomás | Friday, January 11, 2019 at 12:56 PM
She won her first Grammy in '96. None of the artists she beat out are vital in 2019.
Posted by: Steven Rubio | Friday, January 11, 2019 at 02:59 PM