mary j blige be without you instrumental with hook

He said, ‘That’s exactly what I’m looking for! That’s the new sound we need.

One day, I was in Eddie F.’s car in the backseat and Diddy was in the front and I played my tracks. I wasn’t getting any traction with the sound because people didn’t quite understand it. At that time, New Jack Swing was prominent and he told us that his artist wasn’t New Jack Swing and that her style was a little bit grittier and a little more urban.īack then, I was experimenting with putting hip-hop beats together with R&B chord progressions. and I and said he was looking for this new type of sound for his artist. When Diddy was working on the project, he came to Eddie F. We were all from Mount Vernon, NY so we knew each other from high school. We all knew Diddy because he was the A&R of the project. “At the time, I was just a young, up and coming producer that was kind of struggling,” says Hall. Hall and Rooney reveal how they were chosen to participate in the making of the album. Twenty years later, it is highly regarded as one of the most important albums from the latter part of the 20th century.ĮBONY recently sat down with two of the main producers of the album, Dave “Jam” Hall and Cory Rooney to gain insight on the creation of such an iconic album. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the album’s release, which was hailed at the time as a success by many of the culture writers of the early 1990s for its pioneering blend of hip-hop and soul music. Her vocal prowess reigned supreme over hip-hop infused tracks with sprinkles of classic R&B, jazz, hard drum beat patterns and synths. Her singing style was reminiscent of past R&B songstresses such as Stephanie Mills, Chaka Khan and Anita Baker, but she brought something new to the table with her rugged, street girl persona and descriptive lyrical content. The release of her debut album, What’s the 411? would establish her as “the queen of hip-hop soul” and solidify her as a force to be reckoned with.

There was one young artist who was on her way to reach unknown levels of superstardom. Uptown Records had become the hottest music label in the industry, as many of the era’s most prominent acts called their headquarters home. As the 1990s began, New Jack Swing was dominating urban and pop airwaves.

Mary j blige be without you instrumental with hook