Mary J. Blige

At 53 years old, Mary J. Blige has this physical status:

Early life and music career

In Fordham Hospital in the Bronx, New York City borough of the Bronx, 1971, Blige was born January 11, 1971. Cora, a nurse, and Thomas Blige, a jazz musician, were born to mother Cora and father Thomas Blige. She is the second of four children. She has an elder sister, LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Bruce Miller, a younger half-brother, and a younger half-sister, Jonquell, all from a younger Blige's mother's second marriage after divorcing her first husband.

She spent her early childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where she sang in a Pentecostal church. She and her family returned to New York later and remained in the Schlobohm Housing Projects, which is located in Yonkers. Since her father left the family in the mid-1970s, the family continued to rely on her mother's earnings as a nurse. Her father was a Vietnam War soldier who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism.

She was molested by a family friend at the age of five, and as a child she suffered years of sexual abuse from her peers. To try and dull the pain, she'll eventually resort to alcohol, cocaine, and promiscuous sex. In her junior year, Blige dropped out of high school.

Blige spent a short time with band drummer Eddie D'Aprile while studying a musical career. At a recording booth in White Plains, New York, she impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" in early 1988. Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records, was her mother's sister at the time. Andre Harrell, the company's president and CEO, received it from Redd. Harrell joined Blige in 1989 as a backup vocalist for musicians such as Father MC, becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.

Since being signed to Uptown, Blige began working with musician Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy. He became the executive producer and supervised the bulk of her first album.

The title What's the 411?

It was an indication by Blige that it was the "true deal" in its view.

What's the 411?

Nevertheless, Blige established herself as a dynamic storyteller whose love story drew on both her musical influences and her lived experiences as a hip-generation woman. On a regular basis, the music was described as "revelatory on a regular basis." Blige was praised for her "tough girl persona and streetwise lyrics." Uptown/MCA Records released What's the 411? on July 28, 1992, receiving rave reviews from critics.

What's the 411?

The Billboard 200 reached number six on the Billboard 200, and the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart ranked them at number six. On the UK Albums Chart, it also ranked at number 53. The RIAA has awarded it three times Platinum. "She has never seen a woman perform a new jack swing but loves it the same," Entertainment Weekly's Dave DiMartino said about the album's commercial success and Blige's "strong, soulful voice and hip-hop attitude. Blige's debut in the United States in 1992 was according to Dave McAleer.

What's the 411?

In 1993, she received her two Soul Train Music Awards: Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female. It was also voted the year's best album in the Pazz & Jop—an annual survey of American critics nationwide released by The Village Voice. What is the 411? The album had sold 3,318,000 copies in the United States by August 2010. Since being regarded as one of the 1990s' most influential statistics, critics have ranked it as one of the 1990s' most important records. In contemporary R&B, Blige's combination of vocals over a hip hop beat was particularly popular. "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" was the album's hottest hit on the radio, with the single titled "Queen of Hip Hop Soul" on the album. What is the 411? What's the 411? A remix album was released in December that was used to prolong the life of the What's the 411? As Blige's follow-up album came out, she appeared on the radio into 1994.

Blige's debut album and a remixed version of 1993 went into the recording studio in the winter of 1993 to record her second album, My Life. The album was a breakthrough for Blige, who was in a clinical depression at the time, and he was dealing with both opioids and alcohol, as well as being in an intimate friendship with K-Ci Hailey. Uptown/MCA's My Life received rave reviews on November 29, 1994. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 and number one of the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart for 481,000 copies in its first week, and it remained atop the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart for an unprecedented eight weeks. On the Billboard 200 and 84 weeks on the R&B/Hip Albums chart, it took 46 weeks to complete the series. On Blender's list of the 100 best American albums of all time, My Life was ranked 57th out of 57. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2006, the record was ranked 279 on the Time's 100 Best Albums of all Time list.

Blige appeared in numerous outside projects, including a cover of Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel Like" A Natural Woman" for the FOX series New York Undercover and "Everyday It Rains" (co-written by R&B singer Faith Evans) for the soundtrack to the hip hop documentary The Show's percussion. "Not Gon' Cry" is her first and greatest rendition of the motion picture Waiting to Exhale later this year. In early 1996, the platinum-selling single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. Blige earned her first two Grammy Awards and best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996 for her collaboration with Method Man on "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get by." Blige appeared on Jay-Z's breakthrough single, "Can't Knock the Hustle," from his debut, Reasonable Doubt (1996), and "All That I Got Is You," his first album, which was also released that year. In addition,, Blige co-wrote four songs, played background vocals, and was featured on two singles with fellow R&B singer Case on his self-titled debut album (1996), which also featured then up-and-coming rapper Foxy Brown.

What's the 411?

The narrator of this collection is the telling of a woman centered narrative, although her narratives were often tracked and informed by male emcees. Nevertheless, it was the start of a black feminist focused narratives that focused on the everyday life and challenges of the black experience through the lens of women rather than simply talking about black trauma. "If You Look In My Life: Love, Hip-Hop Soul, and Contemporary African-American Womanhood," Treva B. Lindsey's book "According to her piece "If You Look in My Life: Love, Hip-Hop Soul, and Contemporary African-American Womanhood" emphasizes the male's control. "Officially the lyrics on What's the 411? Establish an African woman-centered discourse, male artists' words of adoration, and the longing of first introduce listeners to Blige as a hip-hop storyteller. What is the 411? Hence, it's primarily black men's creation of an African American woman-centered storytelling space.

MCA Records (parent company to Uptown Records, which was in the process of being dismantled) blige's third album, Share My World, on April 22, 1997. By that time, she and Combs had dissolved their working relationship. The Trackmasters, who co-produced the project with Steve Stoute, were in his position. Producer Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, R. Kelly, Babyface, and Rodney Jerkins were among those who shared production duties. The album was produced at a time when Blige was trying to "get her life together" by battling heroin and alcohol, as well as the close of her friendship with Hailey. Following a life altering event last year, she tried to avoid the unhealthy lifestyle and embrace more upbeat, happier music. As a result, "Love Is All We Need" and "Share My World" were created. My World debuted on the Billboard 200, giving rise to five hit singles: "Love Is All We Want," "I Can Love You" (featuring Lil' Kim), "Everything", "Missing You" (UK only) and "Seven Days" (featuring George Benson). As Blige's sequel to My Life, she performed her hit "Not Gon' Cry" at the 1997 Grammy Awards, earning her her third Grammy Award nomination, her first for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. "Favorite Soul/R&B Album" was nominated for an American Music Award in early 1998. She embarked on the Share My World Tour in the summer of 2006, resulting in the release of a Gold-certified live album later that year, simply called The Tour. "Misty Blue" is the album's first single.

Blige's fourth album, titled Mary, was released on August 17, 1999. It marked a change from her more popular hip hop-oriented sounds; this set contained a more earthy, whimsical, and adult contemporary-tinged collection of songs, reminiscent of the 1970s to early 1980s soul. In concert with Eric Clapton in 1999, she appeared on In Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. The album was re-released as a double-disc set on December 14, 1999. The second disc was enriched with the music videos for the singles "All That I Can Say" and "Deep Inside") as well as two bonus tracks: "Sincerity" (featuring Nas, Andy Hogan, and DMX) and "Confrontation" (a hip hop duo's collaboration with hip hop duo Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap from their 1999 album The Tunnel). The Mary album was widely praised, becoming her most nominated release to date, and it was awarded double platinum. On the radio, it was not as popular as Blige's previous launches, but all of the singles, "All That I Can Say," "Your Child," and "Give Me More," all of which were "most That I Can Say" stood out. In the meantime, MCA continued to expand Blige's audience into the nightclub market as club-friendly dance remixes of the Mary singles were released. In October 2000, the club's remix of "Your Child" reached the top of the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. Ballads, a Japan-only collection, was released in 2001. The album featured covers of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed" and Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel Like") A Natural Woman" and Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue." George Michael and Mary J. Blige wrote the song 'As' written by Stevie Wonder in 1999, and it was also available outside of the United States. It was George Michael and Mary J. Blige's second single from George Michael's greatest hits album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael's. It became the top-ten UK pop hit, ranking at number four on the chart. After Michael's deposition in America for violating a lewd offence, it was not released on the US version of the greatest hits collection or as a single.

In January 2001, Blige appeared as a special guest in the Super Bowl XXV halftime show.

Blige's fifth studio album, No More Drama, was released on August 28, 2001. "Family Affair," the album's first single (produced by Dr. Dre), became her first and only top-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for six weeks. It was followed by two hit singles, "Too Big Without You," featuring Common from "The Bed's Too Big Without You," and the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced title track, which sampled "Nadia's Theme," the piano-driven theme song to the daytime drama The Young and the Restless" by the piano-driven theme song to the daytime drama "The Young and the Restless." Despite the fact that MCA was outweighed by its sales, the album was repackaged and re-released on January 29, 2002. The No More Drama re-release featured a new album cover, deleted three songs from the original tracklisting, as well as two remixes; one of which was the fourth single and top-ten Hot 100 hit "Rainy Dayz," starring Common; and the fourth single and top-ten Hot 100 hit "Dance for Me" starring Common. For the song "He Think I Don't Know," Blige received a Grammy Award for 'Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.' On VH1 Divas show live in Las Vegas in April 2002, Blige performed "Love Is a Battlefield" with Shakira, as a duet with the returning Whitney Houston.

MCA released Dance for Me, a collection of club remixes of some of her previous best hits, including the Junior Vasquez remix of "Your Child" and "No More Drama" on July 22, 2002. This album was released on limited edition double pack 12" vinyl for DJ-friendly play in nightclubs.

Love & Life, Blige's sixth album on Geffen Records (which had acquired MCA Records), was released on August 26, 2003. For this set, Blige heavily collaborated with her one-time producer Sean Combs. Due to the past of them on What's the 411? My Life, which is usually regarded as their best work, and Blige's coming off of a soaring fifth album, and nostalgia were high for the reunion effort.

Despite the album's debut on the Billboard 200 and becoming Blige's fourth straight UK top ten album, Love & Life's lead-off single, "Love @ 1st Sight," which featured Method Man, barely cracked the top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while remaining in the top ten, despite being in last place on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, despite being ranked within the top despite the top despite the album debuting outside the album and becoming Blige, ten on the top ten on the top ten album on the Top ten on the top ten, &Life'st Sight" featuring Method Man, and the Diddy-Man, ten on the Top ten on the Hot R&Life'st Sight, &Life'st Sight ten, ten, ten and Top ten, ten top ten, while remaining in the UK top ten, &Life'st &Life'st &Hip &Life'st &Life'st & however, ten on the UK top &Life'st & Life'st & however, which featured Method Man on the UK Top &Life, & also peaked on the UK top &Life'st Sight'st Sight &Life, although sitting in the top &Life'st Sight'st &Life'st Sight'st Sight'st Sight) & however, top ten;

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"Not Today" stars Eve, "Whenever I Say Your Name" stars Sting on the international re-release, and "It's a Wrap" fared worse. Despite the fact that the album was certified platinum, it became Blige's lowest-selling album at the time. Critics and followers alike slammed the album, blaming a lack of consistency and a clear attempt to recapture the early Blige/Combs glory. During the making of this album, Blige and Combs reportedly suffered and clashed, and then parted ways upon its completion.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 for the first week, selling 285,298 copies in first week. Music critics gave Love & Life mixed feedback. AllMusic gave it four stars and said the album "beamed with joy" on it, and Rolling Stone gave it three stars, saying, "You may not necessarily agree with Blige's music, but you will feel it." The album was eventually awarded Platinum by the RIAA for shipping over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. At the 46th Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for the Best Contemporary R&B Album.

On December 20, 2005, Blige's seventh studio album, The Breakthrough, was released by Geffen Records. Blige worked with J.U.C.E. on the album. Rodney Jerkins, the league, will.am.b.m., Martin Cox, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq, Cool and Dre, and Dre & Vidal. Markus Klinko & Indrani's cover art was shot. It debuted on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip Albums charts, peaking at number one. It became the first week for a female artist in SoundScan history, the fifth biggest first-week sales for a female artist in a female artist, and the fourth best debut of 2005.

While peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking fifteen weeks, the lead-off single, "Be Without You," debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking fifteen weeks; it remained on the chart for more than a month. "Be Without You" achieved success in the United Kingdom (peaked in the lower end of the top 40), and it became Blige's longest charting single on the UK Singles Chart. It's her second longest charting single to date. "Enough Cryin'," atop Blige's "Touch It" remix; and "Take Me as I Am" samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace." "One" was Blige's biggest hit to date in the United Kingdom, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart, subsequently being named one of the country's best-selling singles of 2006, marking her longest charting single to date. The Breakthrough Awards received nine Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award, according to Blige. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, she received eight Grammy Award nominations, the most of any artist this year. Both "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" had been nominated for "Be Without You." Blige's three awards include: "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance," "Best R&B Song," "Beca" (both for "Be Without You"), and "Best R&B Album" for The Breakthrough. "British Music Awards" included Blige in a season sweep, winning two American Music Awards in November 2006 and nine Billboard Music Awards in December 2006.

Reflections (A Retrospective) was a compilation that was published in December 2006. It contained some of Blige's most popular hits and four new songs, including the internationally renowned lead single "I See the Future." However, "MJB da MVP" (which appeared in a different, shorter form on The Breakthrough) was released as the collection's lead single in the United Kingdom. Blige's debut on the US hit number nine in the first week, grossing over 170,000 copies in the first week, while in the United Kingdom, "Runaway Love" is the third single on his fifth album, Release Therapy, reached number nine. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart, ranked fifth. On the soundtrack to Bobby's 2006 motion picture Bobby, Blige appeared with Aretha Franklin and the Harlem Boys Choir, as well as Bryan Adams' "Never Gonna Break My Faith." At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, the artist was nominated for a Golden Globe and received the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance at the Golden Globe and Honor.

Growing Pains, Blige's eighth studio album, debuted on December 18, 2007, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart. In its first week, it sold 69,000 copies, marking the third time since Nielsen SoundScan began collecting reports in 1991 that two albums sold more than 600,000 copies in a week in the United States. The album debuted at number one in its second week, making it Blige's fourth top-one album. "Just Fine," the lead single on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip Songs chart, peaking at number twenty-two and ranked third. "Just Fine" was nominated for the Grammy Award for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance," and Blige earned "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for the Chaka Khan duet "Disrespective," according to Blige.

Growing Pains was not available in the United Kingdom until February 2008, when it became Blige's fifth top ten and third best-charting album, despite lower sales of her top-five songs Mary. After her previous two singles failed to chart well, "Just Fine" returned Blige to the top 20 on the UK singles chart, only after her previous two singles failed to chart. "Work That" (which accompanied Blige in an iTunes commercial) and "Stay Down" are among Growing Pains' subsequent singles.

In the song "All of Me," Blige appeared on 50 Cent's 2007 album, Curtis. She toured with Jay-Z in the City Tour's Heart in March 2008. "You're Welcome" was the band's name. The Evolution of Mary J. Blige, a cable network that broadcasted her career, was broadcast on BET in the same period. Blige and her music were discussed by celebrities such as Method Man and Ashanti. Big Boi and Musiq Soulchild have blige on singles. Growing Pains was nominated for and received the Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary R&B Album" at the 51st Grammy Awards on February 8, 2009, awarding Blige her 27th Grammy nomination in a mere decade. Blige attended the Growing Pains European Tour, her first tour in two years. A tour of Australia and New Zealand had been planned for June, but it was postponed due to "weariness from an overwhelming tour schedule" and then scrapped entirely.

According to Blige, it was worth $22 million federal lawsuit arguing that Neff-U wrote the music for the song "Work It" but Dream Family Entertainment owned it. According to the complaint, Dream Family was never granted permission to use the song on Blige, Feemster, or Geffen Records. The song's lyrics are not in question, and no one is questioning it.

"We Are One: The Lincoln Memorial" at the Lincoln Memorial, Blige returned to performing in January 2009 by performing the song "Lean On Me" at the Presidential Inauguration Committee's "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial." After Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009, Blige performed her hit 2007 hit song, "Just Fine," with a new intro at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. On the annual Christmas Eve in Washington, Blige debuted as a marquee performer.

Better than Every Tear, Blige's ninth studio album, debuted on December 21, 2009, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart and selling 332,000 units in its first week of existence. It was her fifth album not to debut in the United States. In August 2009, Blige released "Stronger" as the lead single from the basketball documentary "More than a Game"'s soundtrack. "I Am" is the second single from Stronger with Each Tear and debuted in December 2009 and debuted at number ten on the Hot 100. The third international single from the album, "Each Tear," was remixed by various featured artists from around the world and then released in February 2010. The single failed to chart anywhere except in the United Kingdom, where it reached number one-hundred-three, and Italy, where it reached number one. "We Got Hood Love," Trey Songz' third U.S. single, debuted in March 2010 and debuted at number tw25 on the Hot R&B/Hip Singles chart, but it fell short of the Hot 100. According to Us Weekly magazine, one of Blige's representatives announced that a tour in favor of Stronger with Every Tear will begin in the fall of 2010. In March 2010, Blige released Stronger with Every Tear in the United Kingdom, as well as in European markets. The album debuted modestly in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart and at number four on the UK R&B Chart and at number four on the UK R&B Chart, with its debut on the UK Albums Chart and at number four on the UK R&B Chart. In other nations, it ranked in the top 100.

At the 2009 BET Honors Ceremony, Blige was honoured by Anita Baker and Monica, who were paid tribute to him. Before the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies played the last game (game 6) of the World Series on November 4, 2009, Blige sang The Star-Spangled Banner at Yankee Stadium. "No More Drama" and "Be Without You," Blige's ninth album, as well as her previous hits, "No More Drama" and "Beside You," were performed on the Precious soundtrack. On the ninth season of American Idol, Blige appeared as a guest judge on January 13, 2010.

On January 23, 2010, Blige introduced the Roots' "Hard Times Come Again No More" as well as performing it at the Hope for Haiti Now telethon. "Blige and Andrea Bocelli performed "Border Over Troubled Water" at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Blige also appeared on BET's SOS Help For Haiti, performing "Gonna Make It" with Jazmine Sullivan and "One." Blige also performed in February 2010's We Are the World 25 for Haiti, performing the solo performed by Tina Turner in the original 1985 We Are the World Version. With Every Tear, Blige was named Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Album at the 41st NAACP Image Awards. Mary J. Blige, the most popular female R&B/Hip Hop artist on the Top 50 R&B/Hip Hop Artists of the Last 25 Years list, was announced on November 18, 2010. She came in second place overall, behind only two people.

Blige's teaser track "Someone to Love Me (Naked)" featuring vocals by Lil Wayne premiered in January 2011. The lead single to Blige's film "The Living Proof" was released in July 2011. VH1's third Behind the Music, which portrayed her personal and professional life, premiered on July 24, the fourth episode of the series Behind the Music. "25/8," Blige's first single off the album in August 2011, remained the first single off the album. My Life II, Blige's tenth studio album... In November 2011, the Journey Continues (Act 1) was first published. The album, which was mainly recorded in Los Angeles and New York City, saw Blige looking forward to the future while acknowledging the past. "Made to You, My Life II: The singer's journey in this life continues." "It's a blessing to be able to connect and identify with my followers at any time." This collection is a retrospection of people all around me. Kanye West and the Underdogs have contributed to the album's success. The second single "Mr. Wrong" by Canadian rapper Drake was the most commercial single from the album, peaking at number 10 on Billboard's R&B/Hip Songs chart. The remainder of the songs, including lead single "25/8," saw only moderate success, despite being in the top 40 on R&B/Hip Songs. The album itself debuted at No. 1 on the charts. 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 156,000 copies in the first week; it was then certified Gold in 2012 and has sold 73,000 in the United States; it was previously announced Gold in 2012.

At the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Blige performed "Star Spangled Banner" on February 28, 2012. Blige appeared on American Idol on March 7, 2012, and on the evening's "Why" test, the following night, she performed "Why" as a guest mentor. Blige appeared at the MGM Grand Las Vegas on September 23, 2012, as a performer at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. Blige appeared on Kendrick Lamar's album "Now or Never" on October 22, 2012.

Early in 2013, rumors that Blige was recording a Christmas album surfaced. A Mary Christmas, a compilation of Matriarch and Verve Records, was released on October 15, 2013, her first appearance with the latter. Barbra Streisand, the Clark Sisters, Marc Anthony, and Jessie J. appeared on the album, as did Barbra Streisand, Jessie J. After it soared to No. 107 in early December, A Mary Christmas became Blige's 12th top ten album. In its eight week, the 10th in the country's eighth week.

Blige performed the national anthem before Game 1 of the 2013 World Series on October 23, 2013.

On February 5, 2014, a remix of Disclosure's "F for You" with guest vocals from Mary was released.

Think Like a Man Too (Music from and Inspired by the Film), which was released on Epic Records on June 17, would feature new songs by Mary J. Blige, including "Suitcase." Blige released a set of songs from and inspired by the film. Think Like a Man Too debut on the Billboard 200 in the United States, with 8,688 copies sold in its first week, the lowest ever sales debut for any of her studio albums. The soundtrack album debuted at number six on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart, tying for the second-most top tens by a female artist, tying Mariah Carey for the second position by a female artist.

With the introduction of a re-worked version of Sam Smith's "Stay with Me" on June 2, 2014, Blige partnered with another English singer. On the same day, a live video to the song was unveiled.

Following her concert appearance at the Essence Festival on July 9, 2014, Blige was announced that she would come to London to try a new tone for her latest album. With a slew of young British musicians, including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, and Sam Smith, Blige spent a month in London recording her album in RAK Studios. On November 24, 2014, ten new songs, co-written and recorded by the singer, were released on an album titled The London Sessions. She revealed in the same month that she had left Geffen and Interscope and signed with Capitol Records.

Blige was hired to appear in the ABC Daytime talk show "World's Gone Crazy" written by Diane Warren in August 2016. A music video was also shot for Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Candace Cameron Bure, Raven-Symoné, Raven-Symoné, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Jedediah Bila. During Blige's premiere week on September 9, 2016, the pair appeared alongside Maxwell on The View to discuss their joint tour and theme tune.

On September 30, 2016, Blige premiered The 411, Apple Music's latest show. Hillary Clinton was interviewed by the actress on her first appearance on the show. A trailer was posted online by Blige singing a "American Skin" cover to a bewildered Clinton. On social media, the discussion sparked mixed and critical reactions. A studio version was released two weeks later, this time featuring a quote from American rapper Kendrick Lamar's book "The Republic of America" Kendrick Lamar was released online.

Blige's "Thick of It" and "U+ Me" followed her much-publicized break from Kendu Issacs in October. Strength of a Woman, her thirteenth studio album, was released on April 28, 2017. It ranked third on the Billboard 200, number two on the Top R&B/Hip Albums chart, and ranked second on the R&B Albums chart, and ranked third on the R&B charts. Following her departure from Capitol Records, Blige released the single "Only Love" on Republic Records on July 12, 2018.

The Royalty Tour, Blige's co-headlining a North American summer tour with Nas on April 16, 2019. Blige's single "Thriving" starring Nas appeared on May 8, Blige. During an interview with Ebro Darden on Beats 1 for the premiere of "Thriving," Blige revealed that her next studio album will be released before July. On June 23, she was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the music industry. Mary J. Blige was one of hundreds of artists whose works were destroyed in the 2008 Universal Fire, according to The New York Times Magazine on June 25, among hundreds of artists whose work was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

With the unveiling of Mary J. Blige's My Life, directed by Vanessa Roth, Blige commemorated the 25th anniversary of her album My Life in June 2021.

In December 2021, it was revealed that Blige had founded Mary Jane Productions in association with 300 Entertainment. "Good Morning Gorgeous" and "Amazing" featuring DJ Khaled were among the news. The songs appear on Blige's fourteenth studio album, also titled Good Morning Gorgeous, which was released on February 11, 2022.

In January 2022, Blige released "Respect Money" by Dave East, a new Good Morning Gorgeous track.

Blige performed at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show on February 13, 2022, with fellow American rappers Dr. Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Anderson.Paak. On the radio show The Breakfast Club, Blige announced on February 17 that she is working on an album entirely made by Dr. Dre. The inaugural Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit, a three-day festival in Atlanta, was announced on March 7, 2022, by Blige and Pepsi in partnership with Live Nation Urban.

By TIME, Blige was ranked as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in May 2022. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for Super Bowl LVI's halftime show in September 2022.

Acting career

Blige appeared on The Jamie Foxx Show in 1998, playing the ostensibly southern Ola Mae, a preacher's daughter who wanted to perform more than gospel music. Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers portrayed her father. In 2001, Blige appeared opposite rapper Q-Tip in the independent film Prison Song. Blige performed a cameo on the Lifetime network series Strong Medicine, a young boy from a band who was sick but who did not seek medical attention. In 2000, Blige was included in a superhero web cartoon in association with Stan Lee. When on her 2000 Mary Show Tour, Blige performed the cartoon as part of her show. In 2004, Blige appeared in The Exonerated, an Off-Broadway play that chronicled death row prisoners's life. Sunny Jacobs was portrayed by Blige as a woman who spent 20 years in prison for a felony she did not commit. In late 2005, it was announced that Blige had won the lead role in the forthcoming MTV Films biopic about American singer/pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone. By spring of 2010, Blige was supposed to appear as Simone with British actor David Oyelowo portraying her manager Clifton Henderson. Later in life, Blige was forced to leave the role due to financial difficulties, and the role was subsequently recast with actress Zoe Saldana as Simone in Nina.

In February 2007, Blige guest-starred on Ghost Whisperer as Jackie Boyd, the school's cheerleader coach, mourning for the death of her brother and being haunted by the ghost of a deceased cheerleader. Many of Blige's songs are included in this episode. In August 2007, Blige appeared as a guest artist on Entourage, as a client of Ari Gold's company. In October 2007, Blige appeared on America's Next Top Model as a creative director for a photoshoot by Matthew Rolston. Mary made a rare appearance on 30 Rock in May 2009 as an artist performing a benefit song for a kidney. In Tyler Perry's film I Can Do Bad By Myself, which was released in September 2009, Blige also played a supporting role.

In the film version of the 1980s jukebox hit musical Rock of Ages, Blige appeared alongside Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, and Alec Baldwin. Justice Charlier, the operator of a Sunset Strip gentlemen's club, was involved in Blige's participation. The film was released in June 2012 and came from May 2011.

Belllige appeared in the Lifetime film Betty and Coretta, alongside Angela Bassett, Malik Yoba, and Lindsay Owen Pierre. Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's widow, appeared in the film Dr. Betty Shabazz. In February 2013, the film premiered in February 2013. In NBC's The Wicked Witch of the West, she portrayed Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in December 2015. Blige appeared on ABC's How to Get Away with Murder as an old friend of Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis in October 2016.

In 2017, Blige appeared in the Dee Rees-directed period drama Mudbound. "Mary J. Blige, the mother of the Jackson family, gives a transformative performance that will further elevate the R&B actor's career." Blige was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Mudbound. She became the first person to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (with Taura Stinson and Raphael Saadiq), becoming the first person to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting and original song in the same year. Dee Rees became the first black woman to direct a film for which an actor was nominated for an Academy Award as a result of her nomination.

In the animated film Trolls World Tour, Blige portrayed Irene Adler in the 2018 animated film Sherlock Gnomes, and in 2020 portrayed Queen Essence. In Scream: Resurrection, the third season of the slasher television series Scream, it was revealed that Blige was cast as Sherry Elliot. On July 8, 2019, the season premiered on VH1. Blige starred Cha-Cha, a key antagonist in Netflix's superhero film The Umbrella Academy, in 2019.

In 2020, Blige played a central role in the horror film Body Cam. She appeared in the independent drama film Pink Skies Ahead. Monet Stewart Tejada stars in Power Book II: Ghost, the first spin-off for the highly rated Starz cable drama Power, which premiered in September 2020. In the biographical drama film Respect about Aretha Franklin's life and work, Blige played singer Dinah Washington. On August 13, 2021, the film was released theatrically.

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