ADot MDot Productions

ADot MDot Productions With over twenty-five years experience in DJ/PA services, we at A-Dot M-Dot Productions seek to prov

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:“K. Murray Interlude”. Beyond successfully bridging R&B over hip-hop inspired ...
30/11/2025

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:
“K. Murray Interlude”.
Beyond successfully bridging R&B over hip-hop inspired beats, Mary is a true hip-hop head. And in the same way “What’s The 411?” featured Busta Rhymes doing an intro, Keith Murray is tapped to deliver an interlude, a which was produced by Nashiem Myrick, and later got an added verse from The Notorious B.I.G.
There’s a whole rabbit hole that follows this that I will expand on later, but the whole Keith Murray verse can be found on Erick Sermon’s “Tell ‘Em” on his 1995 album, “Double or Nothing”.

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:“I’m The Only Woman”. While “My Life” is a snapshot of Mary’s life at that tim...
29/11/2025

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:

“I’m The Only Woman”.
While “My Life” is a snapshot of Mary’s life at that time, many of the songs play like an unrequited love song to K-CI Hailey. Mary admits years later that these songs were her way of trying to tell Hailey how much he meant to her, with the yearning for their relationship to work.
“I’m The Only Woman” samples Curtis Mayfield’s “Give Me Your Love”, from the motion picture “Super Fly”. Once again, the choice of song is Mary’s, being one she remembered listening to growing up. Mary’s voice evokes pain, longing and power.

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track. “You Bring Me Joy”/“Marvin Interlude”“You Bring Me Joy” is upbeat, exactly as...
29/11/2025

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track.

“You Bring Me Joy”/“Marvin Interlude”

“You Bring Me Joy” is upbeat, exactly as its title suggests, and features Mary in a beautiful alto tone. Produced by Chucky Thompson, who samples the Barry White hit “It’s Ecstacy When You Lay Next To Me”, “You Bring Me Joy” also is co-written by Jodeci bandmate (and brother of Mary’s then-boyfriend K-CI Hailey), Joel “JoJo” Hailey. As Mary tells it, it’s one of the songs where her “family” in the form of Jodeci pitched in. It’s also where we discover that Mary had an active hand in picking the songs and samples she wanted to use on “My Life” instead of being a passive vessel - long before she executive produced her own work.

Years ago when I bought the CD, I was at a loss to understand who “Marvin” was and why an interlude was dedicated to him. In the 25th anniversary release of “My Life” which included commentary, Mary revealed that it was in part a tribute to Marvin Gaye, and the lush, layered soundscapes he created on his groundbreaking albums like “What’s Going On” and “I Want You”. It’s a stroke of creativity that we are finally able to properly interpret.

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:“Intro/Mary Jane (All Night Long)”If you’re new to Mary’s music (you shouldn’t...
29/11/2025

Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”, track by track:

“Intro/Mary Jane (All Night Long)”

If you’re new to Mary’s music (you shouldn’t be) or you aren’t familiar with “What’s The 411” (1992), the answering machine in the intro is a throwback to “Leave A Message” from the debut. But instead of a slew of rappers and DJs leaving messages on Mary’s machine, the only person on the other end is Sean Combs, who as executive producer and coach, is encouraging her to get back in the saddle.

“Mary Jane (All Night Long)” plays on Mary’s given names, with her vocals laid on Chucky Thompson’s replayed production of the Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long”. For those not familiar, they’d quickly mistake the synth flutes for that of Rick James’ “Mary Jane” (Rick also produced the original “All Night Long”, but they really are replayed from Teddy Pendergrass’ “Close the Door”.

Here we go!“My Life”, Mary J. Blige’s second album, was released 31 years ago on this day - 29th November, 1994. It’s wi...
29/11/2025

Here we go!

“My Life”, Mary J. Blige’s second album, was released 31 years ago on this day - 29th November, 1994. It’s widely regarded as a modern day R&B classic, with a mix of samples & re-imagined soul instrumentals providing the backdrop for Mary’s still evolving but powerful vocal styling.

Produced largely by the now-deceased Chucky Thompson and overseen by Sean Combs, “My Life” is less autobiography and more a snapshot of a then 23-year old Mary’s life, which was equal turns navigating newfound fame, financial improvement, depression, addiction and a long-term toxic romantic relationship.

Mary has described the recording process as cathartic and has spent much of her live performances dedicated to the album as her opus.

Today, we’ll do a bit of deconstructing, track by track. Hope you enjoy it!

I think we’re gonna talk about this tomorrow.
28/11/2025

I think we’re gonna talk about this tomorrow.

Thank you. Transition safely.
05/11/2024

Thank you.
Transition safely.

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