What's the 411?

What's the 411?
Studio album by Mary J. Blige
Released	July 28, 1992
Recorded	1991–1992
Genre	Hip hop soul, new jack swing
Length	51:59
Label	Uptown, MCA
Producer	Puff Daddy (exec.), L. A. Reid, Mark Morales, Mark C. Rooney, Dave Hall, Devante Swing, Tony Dofat
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] BBC Music (favorable)[2] Entertainment Weekly (A)[3] Rolling Stone [4]
Mary J. Blige chronology
What's the 411? (1992) What's the 411? Remix (1993)
Singles from What's the 411?
"You Remind Me" Released: June 23, 1992 "Real Love" Released: August 25, 1992 "Reminisce" Released: 1992 "Sweet Thing" Released: April 3, 1993 "Love No Limit" Released: June 18, 1993

What's the 411? is the debut album by American recording artist Mary J. Blige, released July 28, 1992. Upon being signed to Uptown Records, she began working with record producer Puff Daddy. The album spawned five singles, including "You Remind Me" and "Real Love".

What's the 411? peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was certified three times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who noted Blige's strong, soulful voice. She was also praised for combining hip hop and soul music, subsequently earning her the title "Queen of Hip Hop Soul".

Background

At the age of 17, Blige recorded a cover version of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" in a recording booth at a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette to recording artist and A&R runner for Uptown Records, Jeff Redd.^[5] Redd then sent it to the president and chief executive officer of the label, Andre Harrell. Blige met with Harrell in 1990 and performed sang for him.^[6][7] She was signed to Uptown and became the label's youngest and first female recording artist.^[8]

Recording and music

After being signed to Uptown Records, Blige began working with record producer Puff Daddy.^[7] He became the executive producer and produced a majority of the album.^[9] The title, What's the 411?, derived from Blige's past occupation as a 4-1-1 operator;^[10] it was also an indication by Blige of being the "real deal".^[11] The album contains elements of hip hop soul and new jack swing,^[1][12] The music was described as "revelatory on a frequent basis".^[1] Blige was noted for having a "tough girl persona and streetwise lyrcs", which gave the album "a gritty undertone and a realism missing from much of the devotional love songs ruling the charts at that time".^[4] Havelock Nelson of Entertainment Weekly expressed that Blige "bends her gospel-bred pipes around streetwise collages consisting of hard drumbeats, rugged rap samples, and hazy synthesizer lines", describing déjà vu of "the most accomplished fusions of soul values and hip-hop to date".^[3]

The album begins with "Leave a Message", a collection of Blige's answering machine messages over a drum beat. The following two tracks, "Reminisce" and "You Remind Me", are melancholy songs that are overlaid with hip hop beats.^[13] A cover of Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing" followed.^[14]

Critical reception

What's the 411? received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Blige received comparisons to recording artists Chaka Khan, Caron Wheeler and Anita Baker.^[1][3] Her voice was described as "powerful" and "soulful". David O'Donnell of BBC Music complimented Blige's "sweet, soulful vocals", in line with Puff Daddy's "rough, jagged, hip-hop beats made for a winning combination that remains".^[2] The album lead to Blige being dubbed as the reigning "Queen of Hip Hop Soul".^[1] Stanton Swihart of Allmusic called the album "the decade's most explosive, coming-out displays of pure singing prowess".^[1] O'Donnell argued that the album is "one of the most important albums of the nineties".^[2] The album earned Blige two Soul Train Music Awards in 1993: Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female.^[15]

What's the 411? peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.^[16] It also peaked at number 53 on the UK Albums Chart.^[17] It was certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.^[18] Blige became the best new female R&B artist of 1993 in the United States.^[19]

Retrospect

Blige's combination of vocals over a hip hop beat became influential in R&B.^[20] She is credited for creating the hybrid genre hip hop soul,^[1] as well as pioneering neo soul.^[4] Along with Puff Daddy, Blige attributed to the "sample-heavy sound that reinvigorated urban radio", which became "a blueprint for nineties hip-hop and R&B".^[21]

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Notes

References

• Bailey, Diane (2009). Mary J. Blige. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 1435850556. 
• Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743201698. 
• McAleer, Dave (1995). All Music Book of Hit Albums: The Top 10 U.S. and U.K. Album Charts from 1960 to the Present Day. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 087930393X. 
• Warner, Jay (2008). Notable Moments of Women in Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 1423429516.