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Mary J. Blige music biography continued...

Bronx, New York. In 1988, Blige recorded an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up In the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records, which ultimately led to her signing as the label's youngest and first female artist. She remained there for a few years singing backup vocals and began production on her first solo effort, What's the 411? in 1991, under the direction of Sean "Diddy" Combs, at the time a fledgling executive at Uptown. The label released the album in July 1992 with You Remind Me", the album's lead-off single, peaked at 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the R&B singles chart that summer. The second single, "Real Love", was released in the fall. It too topped the R&B singles chart, and became Blige's first top ten Hot 100 single, peaking at number seven. Both singles were also certified Gold. More What's the 411? singles followed into 1993, including "Reminisce", a cover of Rufus's "Sweet Thing", and "Love No Limit". By the end of the year, What's the 411? had sold three million copies. Since that auspicious debut, Blige has received over twenty-six Grammy Award nominations for her work, winning eight, and has been awarded the World Music Legends Award for blending hip hop and soul like no one else during the early 1990s.



With album sales of over 40 million copies, Blige has maintained her output and high profile musical activities well into the new millennium. Her eighth studio album, Growing Pains, was released in December 2007 debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. She was also featured on the 2007 50 Cent album, Curtis, as well as in songs by up and coming stars Big Boi, and Musiq Soulchild. According to Rolling Stone magazine: "Mary J. Blige has rightfully earned her royal appellation "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul." It seems there are few who would dispute that.