Word: blige
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...Mary J. Blige is looking as fine as she wants to be. The "queen of hip-hop soul" isn't known for upscale glamour; she earned her rep for her edge, her streetiness, her willingness to keep it real. On the cover photo of her 1992 debut album What's the 411?, her face is shrouded in shadow, gangsta-girl tough. Blige, back then, was all about combat boots and leather jackets; she could drink with the best of them, curse with the worst of them. But at a recent photo shoot in a studio in New York City, Blige...
...Blige is ready to step out. Over the past year, she's split from her original producer and mentor, Sean ("Puffy") Combs; left her old record label, Uptown; and re-dedicated herself to spirituality. Her third album, Share My World (MCA), comes out this week, and it's a winner. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter's groundbreaking first album sold 2 million copies; her second, the spottily brilliant My Life, sold 3 million; both spawned countless sound-alikes. The bold but ultimately mercenary ghetto-sex-bomb posturing of rappers Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim, the emotionally blunt crooning...
Share My World shows that Blige deserves a place among pop's premiere female vocalists--Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton. Blige's previous CDs had some charming cuts, including the bighearted Real Love and her show-stopping remake of I'm Goin' Down. Those albums, however, were tailored for hip-hop audiences; Share My World, seems designed to appeal to lovers of the Wu-Tang Clan and Lisa Stansfield alike. The first song, I Can Love You, draws its melody in part from Lil' Kim's crass but compelling song Queen Bitch, but Blige, employing nimble vocals...
...peers because their music continues to be refreshingly and arrestingly distinct. Their vocal arrangements, which run the gamut from honey-drenched harmonies to smooth whispers, are instantly recognizable, representing yet another facet of the classic tradition. Too many new artists are merely trying to be the next Mary J. Blige or Boyz II Men, and these one-hit wonders continue to fall by the wayside, unable to carve out a unique niche. Much of today's R&B comes out the same over-produced mold, but Tony Toni Tone consistently relies on an uncommon "less is more" production policy...
...Waiting to Exhale sound track is a virtual Who's Who of divadom, as compiled by Houston and the album's producer-composer, Kenneth ("Babyface") Edmonds. Along with Houston, the album features numbers by such highly regarded R.-and-B. performers as Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige. Yet Houston more than holds her own, particularly on Why Does It Hurt So Bad, with its masterly balance of pop zip and soulful melancholy. She was an enthusiastic advocate of the idea that the album should feature only women--a popular concept these days, with such recent all-female...