WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

What's The 411? Mary J. Blige's Early Years Anthologized On 'HERstory'

October 15, 2019 By The Second Disc Leave a Comment

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Long established as one of the premiere female hip-hop/R&B artists of her generation, Mary J. Blige is telling her story - the one that earned her the title of Queen of Hip-Hop Soul - through HERstory, Vol. 1, a new multi-format compilation coming this December.

Born in The Bronx and raised in both Savannah, Georgia and the projects of Yonkers, New York, Mary J. Blige's three-decade-plus career has been supported by music that balances street sounds with feminine soul and the pen of a gifted, honest storyteller. As an 18-year-old high school dropout, she became the youngest and first female signee to Andre Harrell's formative Uptown Records. Three years later, in 1992, she issued her debut album, What's The 411?, and immediately galvanized critics and audiences alike with her virtually unprecedented mix of rap and soul. (The album was executive produced by a relatively unknown Sean "Puffy" Combs, who'd invite some of the genre's greatest rappers to collaborate with her, including The Notorious B.I.G., who guested on a remix of her first pop crossover hit "Real Love.")

Following four Top 10 R&B hits from 411, Mary battled substance abuse and clinical depression before and during the creation of her follow-up album, the aptly-titled My Life (1994). The finished product was hailed as a masterwork, debuting atop Billboard's R&B/hip-hop albums chart and staying there for an unprecedented eight of its 84 total weeks on the chart. My Life earned Blige her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and is on all-time best-of album lists by Rolling Stone, Time and Blender. In the wake of My Life's success, Mary appeared on several notable rap singles, duetting with Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man on the Grammy-winning "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" and singing the hook to Jay-Z's breakthrough single "Can't Knock The Hustle."

Blige has since released 12 more Top 10 albums and has earned increasing acclaim for her body of work (including an Oscar-nominated turn in the 2017 film Mudbound). HERstory, Vol. 1 takes listeners through the first five or so years of that career, primarily focusing on singles from What's The 411? and My Life (many in rare single-only remix form) as well as the aforementioned Method Man and Jay-Z collaborations and the relatively rare "Everyday It Rains" off the soundtrack to the 1995 hip-hop documentary The Show. The album will be primarily available as a CD, 2LP or digital set, with a special deluxe box set edition featuring 16 hits and remixes from the same period (a slightly different track list from the standard album) across eight newly-created 7" singles.

Taken together, it's a solid summary of her first few years on the scene - and, judging by its title, hopefully the first of a series. HERstory, Vol. 1 is told on December 6, and you can pre-order all formats below.

HERstory, Vol. 1 (UMe B0029963-01/02, 2019)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

  1. You Remind Me
  2. Real Love (Hip-Hop Remix feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
  3. Reminisce (Bad Boy Remix)
  4. Love No Limit (Puff Daddy Mix)
  5. You Don't Have To Worry (Remix Main with Rap feat. Craig Mack)
  6. What's The 411? (feat. Puba)
  7. What's The 411? (Remix feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & K-Ci)
  8. Be Happy
  9. Mary Jane (All Night Long) (Remix feat. LL Cool J)
  10. I Love You (Remix feat. Smif N Wesson)
  11. I'm Goin' Down
  12. You Bring Me Joy
  13. I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By (Puff Daddy Mix) - Method Man feat. Mary J. Blige
  14. Everyday It Rains
  15. Love Is All We Need (feat. Nas)
  16. Can't Knock The Hustle - Jay-Z (CD bonus track)

Original versions of Tracks 1-7 from What's The 411? (Uptown, 1992)

  • Tracks 1 and 6 from original album - Uptown UPTD-10681, 1992
  • Track 2 from Uptown CD single UPTDM-54456, 1992
  • Track 3 from Uptown CD single UPTDM-54525, 1992
  • Track 4 from Uptown CD single UPTDM-54640, 1993
  • Track 5 from Uptown cassette single UPTCS-54701, 1993
  • Track 7 from What's The 411? Remix - Uptown UPTD-10942, 1993

Original versions of Tracks 8-12 from My Life (Uptown, 1994)

  • Tracks 8 and 11-12 from original album - Uptown UPTD-11156, 1994
  • Tracks 9-10 from Uptown promo CD single UPT5P-3552, 1995

Track 13 from Def Jam single 422 851 879-2, 1995. Original version from Tical (Def Jam, 1994)
Track 14 from Russell Simmons Presents The Show: The Soundtrack - Def Jam 314 529 021-2, 1995
Track 15 from Share My World - MCA Records MCAD-11606, 1997
Track 16 from Reasonable Doubt - Priority/Freeze/Roc-a-Fella P2 50592, 1996

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

HERstory Vol. 1 - 7" Box Set (UMe, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

  • You Remind Me b/w You Remind Me (Bentley's Mix)
  • Real Love b/w Real Love (Hip-Hop Mix feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
  • Reminisce (Bad Boy Remix) b/w Love No Limit (Puff Daddy Mix)
  • You Don't Have To Worry (Album/Radio Mix) b/w You Don't Have To Worry (Remix Main with Clean Rap feat. Craig Mack)
  • What's The 411? (feat. Puba) b/w What's The 411? (Remix feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & K-Ci)
  • Be Happy b/w Be Happy (Bad Boy Butter Mix feat. Keith Murray)
  • Mary Jane (All Night Long) b/w I Love You (Remix feat. Smif N Wesson)
  • You Bring Me Joy b/w I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By (Puff Daddy Mix) - Method Man feat. Mary J. Blige

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, Vinyl Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop Tags: Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, The Notorious B.I.G.

Avatar photo

The Second Disc

The Second Disc is devoted to the weird, wild and wonderful world of music catalogue projects. Every week, Mike Duquette, Joe Marchese, and Randy Fairman bring you news, reviews, commentary and features on remasters, reissues, compilations and box sets.

Connect With The Second Disc:

You Might Also Like

  • Stream 2023The Weekend Stream: April 22, 2023
  • Stream 2023The Weekend Stream: February 11, 2023
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: September 3, 2022
  • StreamThe Weekend Stream: May 21, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Marvelous Mrs Maisel Season 5
    The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Music from Season Five
    Various Artists
    June 09, 2023
  • Alice Cooper Killer
    Killer: Deluxe Edition
    Alice Cooper
    June 09, 2023
  • Alice Cooper School's Out
    School's Out: Deluxe Edition
    Alice Cooper
    June 09, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,586 other subscribers

Popular

  • Tina Turner Simply the Best
    In Memoriam: Tina Turner (1939-2023) posted on May 24, 2023 | under Features
  • Stream 2023
    The Weekend Stream: May 27, 2023 posted on May 27, 2023 | under The Weekend Stream
  • Four Seasons box
    Release Round-Up: Week of June 2 posted on June 2, 2023 | under Release Round-Up

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy