djzyonseven
Sometimes the soundtrack chooses the song for you. 🎶❤️
I was riding around this morning…
Feeling Me…🙃😜
Minding my business…
Vibing with some Spotify…
When Mary J. Blige’s, Fade Away came on.
This is still one of my favorites, from her catalog.
I had to hit repeat!
As I was listening, a thought hit me.
How in the world have I gone this long without featuring Mary J. Blige on The Soundtrack of Who I Became?
We’re talking about Mary.
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. 👑
One of the most influential artists of my lifetime.
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, then you already know Whitney Houston sits firmly at the top of my list of female vocalists.
Right behind her are Mary J. Blige & Mariah Carey.
I can’t say whose 2 or 3, because it changes with who i am listening to.😎
But they are MY top 3 female vocalist of all time.
No debate.
No discussion.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 😎
Mary’s catalog is ridiculous.
She’s given us heartbreak anthems, street records, club records, healing records, relationship records, grown-folk records, and songs that felt like therapy sessions before therapy became trendy.
Some artists created hits.
Mary J. Blige created moments.
And this was the first of the many.
So which song⁉️
Hmmmm
After going back and forth in my head, I realized the answer was easy.
I needed to start with the song that made me stop and pay attention to her in the first place.
Reminisce.
Released in the fall of 1992 as the second official single from her groundbreaking debut album, What’s the 411?.
Reminisce was the record that made me understand that Mary wasn’t trying to be the next anybody.
She was creating her own lane.
Now, don’t get me wrong.
I liked You Remind Me, her first cut from the album.
That groove was smooth and instantly catchy.
But when Reminisce dropped, it hit different.
It had an edge to it.🔥
The genius behind the production was Dave “Jam” Hall, one of the architects of Mary’s early sound.
What made the track stand out was how stripped-down it felt compared to traditional R&B records of the era.
Instead of layering it with polished instrumentation, Hall built the song around a hard, knocking rhythm that gave Mary room to do what she does best.
Feel every single word.
The beat itself borrows from one of hip-hop’s most legendary records, Audio Two’s – Top Billin’.
If you know, you know.
That drum pattern was already iconic before Mary touched it.
Hall also pulled inspiration from MC Lyte’s – Stop, Look, Listen, adding even more hip-hop DNA to the mix.
That combination became the blueprint for what would soon be called Hip-Hop Soul.
Looking back now, it seems obvious.
Back then, it was revolutionary.
Mary wasn’t singing over R&B tracks that happened to have rap influences.
She was singing directly inside hip-hop culture.
That’s why so many of us connected with her immediately.
The record connected with audiences immediately.
Reminisce climbed to No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and reached No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It also became a favorite in clubs across the country, reaching No. 6 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.
More importantly, it helped establish the identity Mary would carry for decades.
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.
Thirty-plus years later, that crown still fits. 👑✨
When I hear Reminisce today, I don’t just hear a great song.
I hear the beginning of a legendary career.
I hear the moment a young artist from the Bronx stepped onto the scene and changed R&B forever.
I hear the record that made me stop what I was doing…
Turn the volume up and say, “Okay… who is THIS?” 🎤🔥🎧.
djz7
PS… I had to include, Fade Away.🗣️
#TheSoundtrackOfWhoIBecame #MaryJBlige #Reminisce #WhatsThe411 #QueenOfHipHopSoul #HipHopSoul #RnBClassic #90sRnB #NewJackSwing #MusicHistory #DJZyonSeven
