From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Tumblr Wikisource YouTube Shop Featured: A Scheme for abolishing all Words is one of the wittiest and smartest comments on semantics. (Illustration: extreme close-up from the movie "The Big Swallow" (1901), produced and directed by James Williamson (1855-1933)

Mary Jane Blige (born January 11, 1971) is an American R&B and hip hop soul singer, songwriter, occasional rapper, record producer, actress, and hip-hop icon who has sold more than forty million records worldwide. She is widely known as the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul", and has also received over twenty-six Grammy Award nominations for her works, winning six. Early in her career, Blige's highly personal songs and gritty voice earned her comparisons to earlier soul singers such as Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin; however her artistic evolution and commercial success throughout the years has seen her exert her own influence over a new generation of artists.