Mary J. Blige

The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, did not get to become successful without putting in a lot of hard work. Starting out in a poor family and being raised by a single mom was not easy. She experienced plenty of low points in her life, but her raw talent helped her make a name for herself in the music industry. She decided to record herself in the mall when she was 17 with the demo tape reaching Uptown Records who signed her up immediately.

The credit, however, goes to Sean Combs, or Puff Daddy as he is more commonly known. He was the one who pushed Blige to become better and so she did. She dropped two albums which were both successful hits that also changed the hip hop scene. Though she did have some ups and downs in her career, Blige has cemented her name in the hip-hop industry. Today, the singer is focusing her energy on caring for herself as she is in need of time to heal herself from all her wounds.