My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

My Life
Studio album by
Mary J. Blige
ReleasedNovember 29, 1994 (1994-11-29)
RecordedDecember 1993 – September 1994
Studio
  • Axis Studios Recording
  • Clinton Recording Studios
  • Daddy's House
  • The Hit Factory
  • Sound on Sound Recordings (New York City)
GenreR&B[1]
Length64:59
Label
Producer
Mary J. Blige chronology
What's the 411? Remix
(1993) 		My Life
(1994) 		Share My World
(1997)
Singles from My Life
  1. "Be Happy"
    Released: October 26, 1994
  2. "I'm Goin' Down"
    Released: January 18, 1995
  3. "Mary Jane (All Night Long)"
    Released: February 8, 1995
  4. "You Bring Me Joy"
    Released: May 28, 1995
  5. "I Love You"
    Released: May 28, 1995

My Life is the second album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on November 29, 1994, by Uptown Records and MCA Records.[2] Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's battling with both drugs and alcohol, as well as being in an abusive relationship. Unlike her debut, What's the 411? (1992), Blige contributed lyrics to fourteen of the album's tracks, making it her most introspective and personal album at the time. Similar to her debut album, My Life features extensive production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.

Considered to be her breakthrough album, My Life became Mary J. Blige's second album to reach the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number seven, and debuting at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it stayed for eight weeks. In 1996, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 38th Grammy Awards, while in December of the same year, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of three million copies in the United States.[2] It also won the 1995 Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Album. In 1996, following the album's success, MCA issued a remix EP entitled My Life Remix Album which featured artists such as LL Cool J and Lauryn Hill.

A special commemorative edition of the album was released on November 20, 2020.[3]

  1. ^ Jenkins, Craig (July 10, 2014). "1. Mary J Blige, My Life - The 50 Best R&B albums of the '90s". Complex. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "American album certifications – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  3. ^ "Mary J. Blige to Re-release 'My Life' in November | 25th Anniversary". 31 July 2020.