On this day in 1994, the Queen of Hip Hop/R&B Mary J. Blige released what is possibly her best work to date, her sophomore ‘My Life’ album.
Produced by Diddy, who was then recognized as Sean “Puffy” Combs on his skyrocketing Bad Boy imprint, MJB’s album appealed to so many because of her relatable experiences with drug abuse, domestic abuse, and depression. Very similar to her debut ‘What’s The 411?’, My Life has an extremely familiar Hip Hop feel, as did the other Bad Boy R&B acts such as Jodeci, Carl Thomas, and a then-unknown Faith Evans.
Some of the album’s unforgettable hits include the metamorphic “Be Happy”, the Rick James fueled “Mary Jane”, “I’m Goin’ Down” and the classic, Roy Ayers influenced title track. Alongside Puffy, producers such as Chucky Thompson, Herb Middleton, and the Trackmasterz’ Poke held it down behind the boards for Mary.
This triple platinum-selling album was named one of Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums(279) and Time Magazine named it in their Top 100.
Salute to MJB, Diddy, and everyone else at Bad Boy who was involved with this timeless classic!
