*On July 28, 1992, Mary J. Blige side-to-side-stomped and arm-chopped her way onto the music scene with her debut album, “What’s The 411?,” a Sean “Puffy” Combs-guided missile that lit up the music industry with its round-the-way-infused power vocals over sampled beats, earning her the nickname Queen of Hip Hop Soul.
Mary’s Boogie-Down, Bronx voracity across the album’s 12 tracks was quite infectious. “What’s the 411?” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and #6 on the Billboard 200. It also went triple platinum, having been purchased by 3.4 million souls.
So throw your “X” hat to the back and get your old Cross Colours oversized baseball jerseys out. Let’s celebrate the 28th anniversary of “What’s the 411’s” release by swing-stomping and arm-slicing along with Mary to live performances of the album’s five – count ’em, FIVE singles, in chronological order by their release date.
“You Remind Me” (Released: June 23, 1992) – From “Showtime at the Apollo”
“Real Love” (Released: August 25, 1992) – From “Uptown MTV Unplugged”
“Reminisce” (Released: October 13, 1992) – From FOX’s “In Living Color”
“Sweet Thing” with Chaka Khan (Released: April 2, 1993) – From “Motown Live”
“Love No Limit” (Released: May 10, 1993) – From “Live from Letterman”