“The problem is for many years/I’ve lived my life publicly/And every time I find someone I like, gotta worry about/If it’s really me that they see,” she sings.
Built around a piano loop from Elton John’s “Bennie And The Jets” (the music legend replayed the part himself for the recording), “Deep Inside” addresses all the people who wanted a piece of the singer. But on her fourth studio album, 1999’s, Mary, she realized you can give too much of yourself away. 20: Deep InsideĮven after seven years of soul-bearing music, Blige had barely scratched the surface when it came to revealing herself as an artist and a person. Listen to the best of Mary J Blige on Apple Music and Spotify, and scroll down for our 20 best Mary J Blige songs. The best Mary J Blige songs tell the story of her artistry – as revealed by these 20 essential tracks.
From her early beginnings in the 90s to her continued impact on pop music through the 00s, and her victory lap in the 2010s, Mary J Blige is one of R&B’s brightest and most innovative vocalists. Starting out as the artist who showed the mainstream how to successfully blend New Jack Swing into a more soulful brand of hip-hop-based R&B, Blige continued to evolve her sound with every decade, as others followed her lead. She’s shared her world and given generously of herself over 13 studio albums, and remains a singular force in R&B. Netting seven Grammy nominations, the album remains one of her most celebrated.Over the course of her decades-spanning discography, Mary J Blige has been a conduit for communal pain and healing. Songs like "Enough Cryin" (produced by Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett), "Take Me As I Am," and the smash single "Be Without You" (courtesy of Bryan-Michael Cox) harkened to the wounded balladeering of old with a new grown-and-sexy bent. The result was a triumphant collection of songs that subtly ushered Blige into a decidedly more adult era of her R&B powers. League, and will.i.am, among a slew of others. When that album was unable to reconjure the magic of old, The Breakthrough found the singer collaborating with a who's who of producers: Raphael Saadiq, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. She began her career working closely with Diddy, who executive-produced her first two albums, and the pair reunited for 2003's Love & Life. Blige released 2005's The Breakthrough, she had already cemented herself as an undeniable legend-the reigning queen of hip-hop soul for over a decade.
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