Mary Jane Blige (surname pronounced /ˈblaɪʒ/; born January 11, 1971), more commonly known as Mary J. Blige, is an American recording artist, record producer and actress. She has sold more than forty eight million albums worldwide. She has received many Grammy Award nominations for her work, winning ten, and has been awarded the World Music Legends Award for combining hip hop and soul together. Blige's vocal range registers from alto to soprano, but mostly performs in the mezzo-soprano range. Blige cites Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan as three of the most influential vocalists in her life.

Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in The Bronx, New York. She is the second of four children born to parents Cora (a nurse), and Thomas Blige (a jazz musician). Blige was taught to sing by her father. When Blige was four, her father (who was physically abusive to her mother) abandoned the family. Blige spent her early years in Savannah, Georgia, where she sang in a Pentecostal church. She later moved to Schlobohm Houses in Yonkers, New York, where she lived with her mother, older sister, five cousins and two aunts. At the age of five, Blige was sexually abused by a family friend. She dropped out of school in eleventh grade. When she was 17, Blige recorded an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up In the Rapture" at a recording booth in the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records. Redd then sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Andre Harrell. Harrell met with Blige and, in 1989, she was signed to the label; becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.

Upon signing to Uptown, Blige's early years there were dormant, as the label continued to focus most of its attention on its more established acts. During this time, Blige occasionally did session work as a background singer for her label mates. In 1990, she was introduced as a background singer for Redd, during a performance at the Apollo Theatre. The same year she sang the hook on "I'll Do 4 U" by rapper and label mate Father MC, appearing in the concert-themed music video of the same name; In 1991, she was spotted on the syndicated show, Showtime at the Apollo, singing back up for Jeff Redd. In early Fall of 1992, Blige guest spotted with Grand Puba with his single, Check It Out. Blige's first national debut appearance was in the summer of 1992 when she appeared on MTV.