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The Bronx born vocal phenomenon Mary J. Blige is responsible for pioneering the hip hop soul sound that has come to dominate chart topping female R&B. During her successful career, Blige has won three Grammys and sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Mary had a tough childhood. Her father, a jazz musician, left when she was four and she recently candidly discussed being sexually molested by a family friend while appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Eventually, they moved from the Bronx to one of Yonkers' infamous housing projects and young Blige sought solace in her music. At the age of 17, Mary recorded a powerful version of Anita Baker's 80's hit "Caught Up In the Rapture" in a pay-per-use mall recording booth. Mary's mother was dating an industry player and he got the tape played for an Uptown Records exec. Uptown Records has since disbanded, but at the time it was home to hip hop heavy hitters like Heavy D & the Boyz. After wasting time promoting their other artists, Uptown finally got around to supporting Blige and the singer went into the studio to record her debut album, the urban soul classic What's the 411? With the help of Sean "Puffy" Combs and Jodeci front-man Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, the album was not like anything that had ever come before, marrying the strong vocals of artists like Janet Jackson with innovative hip hop beats. Singles "You Remind Me" and "Real Love" both steadily climbed the charts til they hit #1. On 2001's No More Drama, Mary J. Blige released her signature club anthem the Dr. Dre produced "Family Affair" as well as her soulful hit "Rainy Dayz."

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