Mary J. Blige: Share My World (1997). On the other side of darkness…light.

B. Cox and Domo review Mary J. Blige's pivotal third album Share My World as it turns 25. After a three-year hiatus from her sophomore album My Life and a split from producer, manager and mentor Sean "Diddy" Combs, the annointed "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" reemerged on a new label and with a change in sound. After suffering from clinical depression and bouts with drugs alcohol, Blige made an effort to clean up her life and found a renewed focus on her music.

Departing working with Diddy for the first time, she served as co-executive producer with Steve Stoute and worked with producers such as the Trackmasters, Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Bryce Wilson. She also had features with the likes of Nas, Lil' Kim, the LOX, Kelly, George Benson and Roy Ayers. With a more optimistic outlook on life, she set out to prove that she had range beyond just hip-hop themed beats and tracks and that she could be a convential R&B songrtress as well.

The album was her first to debut as #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in the US and reached the Top 10 in several other countries. It has been certified triple platinum and is considered as the project that helped her cross over into mainstream success.

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Show Notes

Albumism: Mary J. Blige's "Share My World" Turns 25 | Anniversary Retrospective

https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-25-years-of-mary-j-blige-share-my-world

Rated R&B: Revisting Mary J. Blige's Album "Share My World" 25 Years Later.

https://ratedrnb.com/2022/04/revisiting-mary-j-blige-album-share-my-world/

Essence: What Mary J. Blige's 'Share My World' Means To Me 25 Years Later

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/what-mary-j-bliges-share-my-world-still-means-to-me-25-years-later/

Audacy: Run That Back: Mary J. Blige-Share My World

https://www.audacy.com/music/hip-hop-r-b/run-that-back-mary-j-bliges-share-my-world-turns-25

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