Mary JB’s non-Melancholic Playlist

Written By Kensedeobong Okosun

Since Mary J. Blige gave a stellar performance of “Not Gonna Cry” in 1995, she has been stereotyped the “Queen of melancholic songs”. She has gained fame for singing her personal pain and sharing her trauma with her audience. However, the objective of this post is to show that MJB is not generic or one-dimensional and that she has traversed beyond pain to produce a catalogue of love songs, inspirational songs and fun/party songs which unfortunately go under the radar and are underappreciated. The scope of this playlist covers all albums released from 1992-2011. ***indicates personal favourites.

  1. “Real Love” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXiBUgOzgVQ What’s The 411? (1992).

  2. “You Remind Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gBPi_Jdtyk What’s The 411? (1992).

  3. “Love No Limit” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWRKaiMyPcA What’s The 411? (1992).

  4. “Sweet Thing” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjZF88vqNU What’s The 411? (1992).

  5. “I Don’t Want To Do Anything, feat K-Ci Hailey” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVlfiaYHAbk What’s The 411? (1992).

  6. “What’s The 411?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t3ilsGhXkE What’s The 411? (1992).

  7. “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCF9C10sVqQ My Life (1994).

  8. “You Bring Me Joy” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ5TRXa--QQ My Life (1994).

  9. “I’m The Only Woman” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJh983xluiY My Life (1994).

  10. “I Never Wanna Live Without You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWlPnD0Qb1U My Life (1994).

  11. “No One Else” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RewBHN2nPl8 My Life (1994).

  12. “Share My World” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJZe4mV_Hc Share My World (1997).

  13. “Seven Days” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2LgZ0SHKZw Share My World (1997).

  14. “It’s On” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AfbYIEGprA Share My World (1997).

  15. “Missing You” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZzgzLTUxQw Share My World (1997).

  16. “Everything” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKu9abIat48 Share My World (1997).

  17. “Our Love” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ink65pse8 Share My World (1997).

  18. “All That I Can Say” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCgnkEPreiA Mary (1999).

  19. “Deep Inside” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dijIsYNJ210 Mary (1999).

  20. “Beautiful Ones” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtyf1Sp69xw Mary (1999).

  21. “I’m In Love” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XWU6EYp1hY Mary (1999).

  22. “Time” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lqnIy4EdEc Mary (1999).

  23. “Don’t Waste Your Time, feat Aretha Franklin” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GueF3vLfSwk Mary (1999).

  24. “Give Me You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i86JDnntP4w Mary (1999).

  25. “Let No Man Put Asunder” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hdMSlXVRJw Mary (1999).

  26. “Family Affair” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byFdFFgTnCc No More Drama (2001).

  27. “Steal Away” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVDvfaqs0AE No More Drama (2001).

  28. “Where I’ve Been” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0G_7yyyWIM No More Drama (2001).

  29. “Beautiful Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttYSELW1XDs No More Drama (2001).

  30. “Never Been” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADFYzrHbNs No More Drama (2001).

  31. “2 U” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxA97M1p3Aw No More Drama (2001).

  32. “Not Today, feat Eve” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbzNxOLZ_Q0 Love & Life (2003).

  33. “No One Will Do” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARtRsMnTqQc The Breakthrough (2005).

  34. “About You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECOVP88gTZY The Breakthrough (2005).

  35. “Be Without You” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXc8MxrAC0k The Breakthrough (2005).

  36. “MJB Da MVP” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgknGNYYpU The Breakthrough (2005).

  37. “I Found My Everything” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS9sBHgfGqs The Breakthrough (2005).

  38. “One, feat U2” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEZPh7fl-Dc The Breakthrough (2005).

  39. “Reflections (I Remember)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gC5wQ4Rf88 Reflections - A Retrospective (2006).

  40. “We Ride” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42oX8xwClKo Reflections - A Retrospective (2006).

  41. “You Know” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Z6ju_C_Tc Reflections - A Retrospective (2006).

  42. “King & Queen, feat John Legend” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nArulXHwjE Reflections - A Retrospective (2006).

  43. “Just Fine” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKykbSfI35U Growing Pains (2007).

  44. “Feel Like A Woman” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhi87hfBy6Q Growing Pains (2007).

  45. “Stay Down” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVcRdRHr4Ww Growing Pains (2007).

  46. “Shake Down, feat Usher” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSCWYlBjD3A Growing Pains (2007).

  47. “Till The Morning” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129JGZVSwik Growing Pains (2007).

  48. “Roses” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1swtblxXP8 Growing Pains (2007).

  49. “What Love Is” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLYZ3tOJhbc Growing Pains (2007).

  50. “The One, feat Drake” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdMtm4v331g Stronger With Each Tear (2009).

  51. “I Feel Good” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2kUGcwcMoQ Stronger With Each Tear (2009).

  52. “I Am” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3sYI-2U4qo Stronger With Each Tear (2009).

  53. “We Got Hood Love, feat Trey Songz” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlxiSxSS3xI Stronger With Each Tear (2009).

  54. “Kitchen” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC0HolK1zAs Stronger With Each Tear (2009).

  55. “Midnight Drive, feat Brook Lynn” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgbyeALfyVk My Life II (Act 1) (2011).

  56. “Ain’t Nobody” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15bdddJnJ90 My Life II (Act 1) (2011).

  57. “25/8” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSnhGf9Zum0 My Life II (Act 1) (2011).

  58. “Dont Mind” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_S-U3-UR4 My Life II (Act 1) (2011).

  59. “Love A Woman, feat Beyonce” *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_kzy-hShso My Life II (Act 1) (2011).

Kensedeobong Okosun

Kensedeobong Okosun is a music enthusiast, music researcher, music journalist with expertise in music selection & planning, vocalist and an author. Her academic article “Sisterhood and Soul Music as expressions of Black Power” is featured in the edited volume, Black Power in Hemispheric Perspective (Raussert & Steinitz, eds, 2022). She has reviewed Dorothea Gail’s Weird American Music for the Forum for Interamerican Research (fiar, 2019). Her work has appeared on Nigeria’s Sun News Online and The Nigerian Observer.

Kensedeobong’s blog highlights music’s interconnectivity with society and comprises personal music experiences, researched information, concept playlists for multiple themes, etc.

A hard-core 90s R&B fan, she utilises the vehicle of memory, to position long forgotten music of yesteryears on the front-burner.

She is persuaded that music is a core conduit of collective harmony, equanimity, vitality and healing. And as such requires criticality in the filtration process, in order to disseminate meaning. Her blog promotes music equality and diversity.

She resides in Germany.

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