My Life

by

Mary J. Blige

Edit

My Life is the second studio album from American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, Released by Uptown/MCA Records on November 29, 1994. Recording sessions for the album began in fall of 1993 and ended almost one year later. 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. Similar to her debut album What's the 411?, My Life features vast production from Sean Combs, who provided a new jack swing, neo soul, and hip hop sound.

Considered to be her breakthrough album, My Life became Mary J. Blige's second album to reach the top ten of the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number seven, and debuting at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for seven weeks. The album was nominated at the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album, while in December of the same year, the album was certified 3x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for excess in sales of over one million copies.

Though receiving mostly mixed to favorable reviews upon its release, the album's reception among music critics and writers has improved over time, with some regarding it as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2002, Blender ranked My Life number 57 on their 100 greatest American albums of all time list in 2003, the album was ranked number 279 on Rolling Stone magazine's the 500 greatest albums of all time and in 2006, it was included in Time's 100 greatest albums of all time list.