Mary J. Blige

Released: August 26, 2003

Songwriter: Mary J. Blige Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie Diddy Richard Holland

Producer: Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie

[Intro]
It's not all about the money
(It's not all about the money)
'Cause I love what I'm doing for the people
(I really love doing my job, I really do)
Don't know were I would be if this didn't happen
(You know...)
But I finally made it

[Spoken]
A lot of us don't graduate from high school
A lot us don't get a chance at being a superstar
A lot us don't get a chance
To fulfill our dreams and I'm thinking like God! If I wasn't doing this what would I be doing? Probably like braiding hair
Working at a supermarket
You know, just hustling two jobs, you know what I mean?
At least trying to do the right thing
(La, la, la, la)
I lost so much, you know?
I lost so, so much over the years
But, like, it's amazing how when you decide that you wanna do, do the right thing
And when I say I "finally made it," like, I don't mean I made it successfully with money
I mean like...
I'm spiritually successful right now, like, I'm on the right track
(Never give up, never give up, never, never give up, never give up, never give up)
I'm on my way to like
(Never give up, never give up, never, never give up, never give up, never give up)
A place where I, you know
I never dreamed I'd be and that's perfection
I'm striving for that
I don't think no one can ever be perfect, but I'm striving to be that
(Never give up, never give up, never, never give up, never give up, never give up)
So what I'm saying to all my fans is
If I can do it, I know y'all can do it, too

Mary Jane Blige (b. Jan 11 1971) grew up in the projects of Yonkers, New York. A random decision to record a cover of “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker in a pop-up recording booth at a mall led MJB to getting signed by Uptown Entertainment. After providing background vocals on Father MC’s hit single “I’ll Do 4 U” in 1990, a young intern at Uptown named Sean “Puffy” Combs ended up executive producing Mary’s 1992 debut album What’s The 411?. Fusing hip-hop beats with Mary’s soulful voice earned her the nickname “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”.

She followed up her debut with a string of critically acclaimed albums, including 1994’s My Life and 1997’s Share My World, as well as hit singles such as “Not Gon' Cry,” “Family Affair,” “Be Without You,” and “Just Fine.”

She also collaborated with rappers on a number of tracks, including Jay-Z’s “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” Ghostface Killah’s “All That I Got is You,” Wyclef’s “911,” Common’s “Come Close,” and Method Man’s “I’ll Be There for You/All I Need to Get By,” which was a platinum hit and won the two of them a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.

more tracks from the album

Love & Life

From the album

Love & Life (2003)

Mary J. Blige popular songs

Finally Made It (interlude)Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige

Love & Life