What's The 411 pushed out seven singles - each inimitable. The world was hungry for Mary's next step.
That step was a true R&B classic - My Life - led by what may be the most quintessentially Mary single ever, Be Happy.
Mary had such a way with a song that even her covers sounded distinctively her. Take I'm Goin' Down, for example:
To be the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, you have to ride a beat - and no one rides a beat better than Mary J Blige. NO ONE. Take this Grammy winning collaboration as proof:
It's ostensibly Method Man's song, but the way Mary lingers serves a Lady MacBeth tea - she's no one's support. I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By would not be the same without her.
Also at this time, Mary was finally being seen a something long-lasting by the older members of the R&B community, who definitely ****ed with her contribution to the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, Not Gon' Cry. It gave Mary her first Grammy nomination for R&B Female Vocal. Mary, Queen of Ghetto Chic, showed up in full leopard print. How Cookie of her!
As brilliant as the My Life times were, they were produced by an enormous amount of struggle. Drug addictions, abusive relationships - events that colored her professional life.
By 1999, with a Lauryn Hill penned track, Mary said she was over it all. We wanted to believe her.
Real Love
Be Happy
I'm Goin' Down
I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By
Not Gon' Cry
All That I Can Say
THESE are the Mary songs you'll be rating.
Can we now get into someone, also Black, but almost Mary's mirror image?
Well, I'm not gon cry, I'm not gon cry
I'm not gon shed no tears
No, I'm not gon cry, it's not the time
'Cuz you're not worth my tears
The Waiting To Exhale soundtrack was one of those defining albums for me growing up. Well before I even really got into music it was a staple in my and my cousins' s households
That, Daydream, and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Never let it be said I don't give the people what they want.
Toni Braxton. Oldest of six siblings, a "preacher's kld." Discovered by a local agent at a gas station. That led to a deal with Arista - but for her and her sisters. The Braxtons released an album, which did not do well, but Toni caught the eye of L.A. Reid and Babyface, who were sitting on some songs for the upcoming Boomerang soundtrack that a pregnant Anita Baker had rejected. Obviously, Toni said bye bye to her younger brats - which caused anguish, but paid off in a reality show some twenty years later!
The first solo song she released was a duet with Babyface; the second, Love Shoulda Brought You Home.
Two women who rock short cuts better than they have any right to blew up because of Boomerang; one would become the first Black actress to win Best Actress, the other would be a defining force in 90s R&B.
LSYBH was a hit, as was the first official single off of her eponymous debut album, Another Sad Love Song. But the song that propelled Toni to a global level - and won her a Grammy - was Breathe Again.
If you look closely, you can see Toni her first nosejob!
This song was EVERYWHERE when released, and is still tied as her biggest hit in the UK, peaking at #2.
Toni Braxton produced multiple singles - so, for the sake of variety, let's hone in on a BOP! (Also, Toni's second Grammy?)
All of this provided the groundwork for Toni to soar with her second release. Did she?
Cut to ... 1995. Toni was ready to show a more sensual look - and to show her new boobs off as well! What better than a sleek knock to reintroduce yourself?
First things first - Toni never looked better. Secondly, as a BLACK, I cannot tell you how iconic this video was. Tisha Campbell before she married Will Smith's not so secret lover! Vivica A. Fox with a hairline! Erika Alexander when she worked! Thirdly, as a gayling, this video made me uncomfortable in ways I could not verbalize until years later. Fourthly, and through a sociopolitical lens, this video made statements - along with Janet's janet era, it was the only video I could recall seeing as a youth that featured Black women with a variety of ethnic options at their disposal. It said that Black women were beautiful. They could be attractive to all men with brains. They deserved ABS. They had POWER.
And that catsuit.
At the same time, Toni had a song off of the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, called Let It Flow. The two singles were released concurrently, and I believe this was the last double A-side single to reach number one until Kelly Clarkson won American Idol. Check me if I'm wrong!
If I decide to let elevens/ten and a halves in this rate, this should get everyone's top score. It's legit perfect y'all. In fact, in the 90s version of Best of the Best, this got the highest score of any song playing in the first round. It might be the best "moment of reckoning" song of the entire decade. Well, by a black woman - a white woman sort of topped her a year later.
And then, you know, the behemoth. Un-break My Heart. Written by Diane Warren, ruled the globe for the better part of fall/winter 1996. Undoubtably Toni's biggest hit.
It's alright.
Love Shoulda Brought You Home
Breathe Again
I Belong to You
You're Making Me High
Let It Flow
Un-break My Heart