Birthday shoutout: Mary J. Blige

R&B great Mary J. Blige turns 42 years old today.

She was an early project of teen music phenom Sean “Puffy” Combs, and from the start – with her debut album “What’s the 411?” -  she was presented as a young singer who was cut from a different mold than R&B divas such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She positively exploded onto the scene with hits like “Real Love.”

Since then, she has won nine Grammy Awards, sold 50 million albums and had an enormous impact on R&B, hip-hop and pop music. Click here to watch a dynamic live performance of her hit “Be Without You.”