Mary J Blige biography

The first single 'You Remind Me' charted strongly, reaching the US no. 29 spot, and the follow-up 'You Remind Me' did even better, climbing to no.7. The album, which was to eventually reach 2 million sales by the end of 2003, also featured a duet with Jodeci's 'K-Ci' Hailey, with whom she became romantically involved - and endured a tumultuous, abusive relationship for 6 years. As her website states, still a teenager, she was not yet '…equipped to deal with the sudden fame and the demands of the music business…' and Mary's long-term problems with depression, alcohol and drug abuse began here.

Uptown's attempt to capitalise on the commercial success of 'What's the 411?' with an album of remixes met with a lukewarm response, but the next album release, 'My Life' (1994) saw Blige in more confessional mood. Having had far more of a hand in writing the lyrics than previously (the first album featured none of her compositions), and aided again by Combs, who co-produced the entire album (and became her manager), Blige drew heavily on her own personal problems to provide the album's material - 'My Life' went triple-platinum, although the personal demons were not exorcised by the record sales.

Her duet in 1995 with the rapper Method Man, 'I'll be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By', sampling the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit from 1968, felt much more like a portrait of substance dependency and obsession than the original tale of fulfilling love, although this laying bare of herself did yield her first Grammy, for 'Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.'

Blige underwent some career changes, severing ties with Combs and with the Uptown label - hiring Suge Knight as financial advisor, she moved to the MCA label, on which her next album 'Share My World' was released in 1997. Another hit, reaching the US Billboard no. 1 spot, the album also marked the start of her long-standing relationship with the producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and also featured production involvement from Babyface, Rodney Jerkins and R Kelly. Although critics were not so keen on the more conventional soul sound of the album, sales took it to triple platinum, and Blige was rapidly carving out a comfortable place in the industry, carrying enough clout to pursue her own musical interests. Furthermore, her troubled relationship with Hailey had drawn to a close, perhaps explaining the less tormented tone of the songs.

1999's 'Mary' followed suit, and was chock-full of collaborations with major stars - duetting with Aretha Franklin (on 'Don't Waste Your Time'), Eric Clapton playing guitar (on 'Give Me You') and Elton John playing piano on 'Deep Inside'. Her duet with George Michael on the Stevie Wonder classic 'As' (on the international version of the album) also enjoyed great success, reaching no. 4 in the UK singles chart. The album managed to retain the original emotive power and sweet elegant soul of her debut, but Blige was clearly letting go of some of the confrontational ghetto attitude - and with it, exorcising some of her personal demons.

Blige entered a relationship with Martin 'Kendu' Isaacs in 2000, who was to issue an ultimatum to her to quit drinking - and she credits him as being the one who inspired her to put her substance problems well behind her. (The pair eventually married in 2003, in a small ceremony at her home, Blige becoming stepmother to Kendu's children). 'No More Drama', in 2001, sounded like a statement of intent as much as an album title - and although Blige was still drawing on her personal traumas as a source of emotion for her performances, this was more an example of looking back upon past crises than being caught up in the eye of the storm, as had been the case with 'My Life'. Jam and Lewis produced the title track, and the biggest hit of Blige's career came in the shape of the album's first single release, 'Family Affair', a Dr Dre production which went to number 1 in the US. Blige also bagged another Grammy for her duet with Sting on his sacred Love album, a single entitled 'Whenever I Say Your Name'.

She also rebuilt bridges with P Diddy - the producer formerly known as Sean Combs - who worked on the remix of 'No More Drama', and appeared in the promo video, and subsequently went on to oversee much of her next album, 2003's 'Love and Life'. However, their partnership was not to prove as fruitful as it had back at the beginning of their careers, and the album failed to recapture past glories. However, after a two year hiatus, 'The Breakthrough' lived up to its title and spawned several hits for Mary - 'Be Without You' and 'Enough Cryin'' enjoying chart success in America, and her duet with U2 on a reworking of the Irish band's 'One' storming to no. 2 in the UK - her highest chart position to date in Britain.

By 2006 it was clearly time to raid the back catalogue, and 'Reflections - A Retrospective' gathered together some, if not all, of her past favourites, along with four new compositions. And in addition to some previous minor acting roles, Blige has reportedly been lined up for the starring role in a Nina Simone biopic, slated for a 2007 release - no doubt her ability to draw from a deep well of emotion and to wear her heart on her sleeve being deemed ample credentials for Mary J to take the role.

• Discography