Mary J. Blige: From the Projects to Hip-Hop Soul Queen

June 22, 2006 — -- The "J" in her name may stand for Jane, but she is no plain Jane for sure.

From Yonkers, N.Y., to Hollywood, Calif.; from 411 operator to queen of hip-hop soul; from rags to riches, Mary J. Blige is a star in American pop culture who many can relate to on some level because her road to stardom hasn't been an easy one.

Blige has come a long way since her first karaoke-style demo tape from 17 years ago that she put together with a few friends at a mall.

The 34-year-old has gone from a tough Brooklyn brunette, to a short-haired, sassy bombshell, to a sultry blonde. One thing, though, always seems to remain at Blige's core: a drive to achieve.

Blige is a true American success story. The title of her 1992 debut album, "What's the 411?," was probably no accident. Before Blige recorded that album, she used her cords working as a 411 operator.

Before earning the enviable title of queen of hip-hop soul, Blige emerged in the early '90s as a young R&B singer closely tied with hip-hop artists and producers. The singer helped to muddy the distinctions between those genres, along with other artists like TLC and Salt-N-Pepa.

This rags-to-riches story that Blige embraces is exactly the reason why the MAC cosmetics company chose the hip-hop soulful singer as its AIDS Foundation Viva Glam pinup girl.

It didn't all start out quite so glamorous for Blige.

"She had a rough childhood, and she is able to express that very uniquely. That's why people relate to her," said Blige's publicist Jim Merlis of Geffen Records. "Her emotions are very raw and on the surface."

Just a couple of decades ago, few would have predicted that this woman, raised in the Schlobam Housing Projects of Yonkers, would now be harmonizing with the likes of rock superstars U2.

"She's a lot more mature now. She deals with her emotions better. She lashes out less. She knows the world isn't fair and rolls with it," Merlis said.

Blige's launch to top-of-the-chart stardom was in part ignited by her upbringing in one of New York City's poor neighborhoods.

"Every day I would be getting into fights over whatever. You always had to prove yourself to keep from getting robbed or jumped," Blige said in an interview with Essence magazine. "Growing up in the projects is like living in a barrel of crabs. If you try to get out, one of the other crabs tries to pull you down."

In her 2000 tour, "The Mary Show," Blige dressed up as superheroine "Protector of the Hood" to reflect her rags-to-riches reality, giving inspiration to others.

"Having been raised on the hard streets of the city. … The chance to be transformed into a 'Protector of the Hood' sends a powerful message to my fans that your community is what you make of it, that you can be a superhero every day," Blige told Jet magazine.