50 Years of Soul Power
Mary J. Blige
My Life
(Bad Boy/MCA; 1994)
What’s the 411 was a breakout for the hailed Queen of Hip-Hop, but the street beats and soulful belting of Blige’s raspy soul of My Life felt a bit more epic. There are plenty of scrapbook pieces of soul nostalgia inside; “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” merges two Rick James together for a dreamy joyride, while “You Bring Me Joy” samples Barry White’s atomic funk. “My Life” lifts a Roy Ayers track, but fits well inside the scheme of Blige’s inner struggles: “Don’t you know, I know/We all are struggling/I know it is hard/But we will get far.” The transcendent closer, “Be Happy,” is a powerful showcase of post-funk, and her farewell to Jodeci ex-lover K-Ci Hailey. Plus her color-by-numbers remake of Rose Royce’s “I’m Goin’ Down” forced the Car Wash track’s popularity into pop culture. With Sean Combs on deck, My Life is a sampler’s playground, proving that non-rappers could benefit richly from the déjà vu.
About the Author
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