The Evolution of Mary J Blige

BET.com takes you on a journey of Mary's musical career through photos.

1992 - Remember What's The 411? How could you not? Her debut album was the soundtrack for the whole summer of '92. And the beginning of a long career for Mary J. Blige.

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1992 - Remember What's The 411? How couldn't you? This was the beginning of a long career for Mary J. Blige.

1994 - In 1994 Mary J. would release My Life. Her second album was moodier than the first  but it also gave listeners a peek into some real issues the young singer was going through.

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1994 - In 1994 Mary J. would release "My Life." The album was far more moodier than her debut album but it also gave the listener a peek into her life.

1995 - By this time Blige was coming into her own as "The Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul." Her collaboration with Method Man on "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" punctuated the statement—and earned Blige her first Grammy.

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1995 - Blige was beginning to take form as "The Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul." Her collaboration with Method Man on "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" punctuated the statement - and delivered Blige her first Grammy.

1996 - Mary J. released her biggest commercial hit to date. "Not Gon' Cry" off of the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack propelled her career even further.

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1996 - Mary J. released her biggest commercial hit to date. "Not Gon' Cry" off of the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack propelled her career even further.

1998 - This was the year Mary released Share My World, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and spawned 5 hit singles, going on to sell more than 3 million copies.

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1998 - Mary released Share My World, which debuted at #1 on Billboard and spawned 5 hit singles.

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1999 - Mary's fourth album was a departure from the hip-hop oriented sound of her earlier work. Titled simply Mary, the album oozed adult-contemporary flavor and featured high-profile guests like Elton John and Aretha Franklin.

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1999 - Her fourth album would be a departure from the Hip-Hop oriented sound. The simply titled Mary oozed of adult-contemporary flavor and featured high profile guests like Elton John and Aretha Franklin.

2000 - Although Mary didn't perform as well commercially as her previous releases, it still spawned a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play for the remix of "Your Child."

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2000 - Although Mary didn't perform as well commercially as her previous releases, it still spawned a number-one hit on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play for the remix of "Your Child."

2001 - To pave the way for her fifth studio album, Mary released the Dr. Dre produced single "Family Affair." The song became her first #1 on  Billboard's Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks.

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2001 - In preparation for her 5th studio album, Blige released the Dr. Dre produced "Family Affair." The song became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks.

2001 - In August of 2001, Mary J. released the album No More Drama which went double platinum.

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2001 - In August of 2001, Mary J. released No More Drama and went double platinum.

2002 - Blige won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song "He Think I Don't Know."

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2002 - Blige won a Grammy for 'Best Female R&B Vocal Performance' for the song "He Think I Don't Know."

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2003 - A year after No More Drama, Mary J. released Love & Life which surprisingly ended up becoming Blige's lowest-selling and biggest commercial disappointment to date.

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2003 - A year after No More Drama, Mary J. released Love & Life which surprisingly ended up becoming Blige's lowest-selling and biggest commercial disappointment to date.

2005 - After marrying Kendu Issacs in 2003, Blige prepared to hit the scene harder than ever and reclaim her title as "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul."

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2005 - After marrying Kendu Issacs in 2003, Blige prepared to hit the scene harder than ever and reclaim her title as "The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul."

2006 - Blige's aptly titled The Breakthrough found Mary back to her old form. The album sold 270,000 copies in its first week, setting a new record for first-week sales by a solo female R&B artist in SoundScan history. She took home three Grammys off the strength of that album.

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2006 - Blige's aptly titled The Breakthrough found Mary back to her old form. The album sold 27,000 copies in its first week, it became the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in SoundScan history. She took home three Grammys off the strength of that album.

2007 - Mary J. released Growing Pains in December of 2007. The album would be certified Platinum in just two weeks. The single "Just Fine" found the singer in rare form, becoming yet another a testament for women everywhere.

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2007 - Mary J. would release Growing Pains in December of 2007. The album would sell 627k units and reached platinum in just two weeks. The single "Just Fine" found Mary J. in rare form and became a testament for women everywhere.

2008 - Still going strong, Mary looks and sounds better than ever. 2008 is a big year for her as she's named one of People magazine's Most Beautiful People and toured with Jay-Z.

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2008 - Still going strong, Mary looks and sounds better than ever.

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2009 - Mary J. Blige is honored by BET at the BET Honors award ceremony.

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2009 - Mary J. Blige is honored by BET at the BET Honors award ceremony.

2009 - The year started with a historic performance at President Obama's inauguration. Later on Mary J. Blige established her nonprofit organziation F.F.A.W.N. (Foundation For the Advancement of Women Now) and then released the powerful album Stronger With Each Tear.

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2009 - 17 years in the game and it doesn't look like Mary J. is slowing down anytime soon.