Background
This album showcases a creative move by Blige from urban contemporary to adult contemporary, eschewing her previous work's overt hip hop elements and raunchy persona for classicist soul music and more mature songwriting. Highlighted by sleek and polished production reminiscent of 1970s soul, Mary came as a surprise to many of her fans and critics. Similar to Blige's previous release Share My World, the singer served as executive producer. Blige worked with various artists on the album including Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Eric Clapton, Elton John, K-Ci, and George Michael. "I'm in Love", "As" and "Let No Man Put Asunder" are cover versions of Gap Band's, Stevie Wonder's and First Choice's classics.
Read more about this topic: Mary (Mary J. Blige Album)
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