#271 Mary J. Blige, 'What’s the 411?' (1992)

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Debut album by the 21-year-old Mary J. Blige took elements of Hip Hop, Soul, RnB and New Jack Swing and fused them altogether to create a new sound, one that would become synonymous with the early to mid 90’s. Thanks to this, Blige came to be known as the Queen Of Hip Hop Soul. Blige was discovered at the age of 17 after recording a cover of Anita Baker’s ‘Caught Up In The Rapture’ at a recording booth in a local mall. She became the youngest artist signed to Uptown Records, a label that was also home to, amongst others, Notorious B.I.G.

Starting off with a collection of Blige’s answering machine messages over a beat, Blige’s stunning voice is introduced acapella on ‘Reminisce,’ before the beats come in at almost a minute through the song. First single, ‘You Remind Me,’ is the perfect example of her special brand of Soul crossed with Hip Hop. Following a palate cleanser in the form of Busta Rhymes, she presents a true-to-original version of Chaka Khan’s ‘Sweet Thing.’ Sean “Puffy” Combs, aka Puff Daddy aka P Diddy rough Hip Hop beats perfectly complimented Blige’s soulfully sweet vocals. The album would go on to be certified 3x Platinum, with over 3 million copies sold. This record would go on to be the blueprint to so many albums in the ‘90s.

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