Love & Life (Mary J. Blige album)

Love & Life
Studio album by Mary J. Blige
Released August 26, 2003 (US)
Recorded 2002—2003
Genre R&B, hip hop soul
Length 67:36
Label Geffen
Producer Sean "Diddy" Combs (Exec.), The Hitmen (Including Mario Winans, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Steven "Stevie J" Jordan), Dr. Dre
Mary J. Blige chronology
No More Drama
(2001)		 Love & Life
(2003)		 The Breakthrough
(2005)
Singles from Love & Life
  1. "Love @ 1st Sight"
    Released: June 24, 2003
  2. "Ooh!"
    Released: August 19, 2003
  3. "Not Today"
    Released: 24 November 2003
  4. "Whenever I Say Your Name"
    Released: 8 December 2003
  5. "It's A Wrap"
    Released: June 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
BBC Online (favorable)[2]
Blender [3]
Entertainment Weekly (B-)[4]
PopMatters (favorable)[5]
Rolling Stone [6]
Vibe [7]
The Village Voice (favorable)[8]

Love & Life is the sixth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released in the United States on August 26, 2003 (see 2003 in music) on Geffen Records. The album was primarily produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs, who executive produced her first two albums. Additional production came from Dr. Dre and The Hitmen.

The album became Blige's first album in six years to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 285,298 copies in first week.[9]

Love & Life received mixed reviews from music critics.[10] Allmusic gave it 4 stars and said the album "beamed with joy" and Rolling Stone gave it three stars, saying "You may not always love Blige's music, but you will feel her".

The album was eventually certified Platinum by the RIAA. To date the album has sold over 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. and over 2,000,000 copies worldwide.[11] The album was nominated for the Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 46th Grammy Awards.

Contents

Track listing

# Title Length Writers Producer(s)
1 "Love & Life Intro" (featuring Jay-Z & Diddy) 2:48 Mary J. Blige, Shawn Carter, D. Christo, Sean Combs, L. McCann Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
2 "Don't Go" 4:28 Blige, B. Miller, D. Angelettie, Combs, J. Williams, J. Mercer Sean "Diddy" Combs & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie for The Hitmen
3 "When We" 3:36 Blige, M. Jamison, A. Creamer, Mario Winans, Combs, M. Gaye, A. Gaye, E. Stover Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
4 "Not Today" (featuring Eve) 4:13 Blige, Miller, Andre Young, R. Feemster, Mike Elizondo, Eve Jeffers Dr. Dre
5 "Finally Made It (Interlude)" 1:39 Blige, Angelettie, Combs, R. Holland Sean "Diddy" Combs & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie for The Hitmen
6 "Ooh!" 4:07 Blige, Jamison, D. Christo, Combs, H. Bohannon Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
7 "Let Me Be the 1" (featuring 50 Cent) 4:40 Blige, Jamison, Curtis Jackson, M. Crosby, C. Sanchez, Combs, S. Barnes, George Clinton, T. Lindsey Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
8 "Love @ 1st Sight" (featuring Method Man) 5:18 Blige, Jamison, Winans, Combs, Clifford Smith, S. Jordan, K. Fareed, K. Ibn, A. Muhammed, M. Taylor Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mario Winans, & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen
9 "Willing & Waiting" 4:19 Blige, Jamison, A. Creamer, D. Lewis, W. Lewis Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
10 "Free (Interlude)" 2:04 Blige, Winans Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen
11 "Friends" 4:02 Blige, S. Foote, M. Hasan, T. Brock, R. Taylor, B. White Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen
12 "Press On" 4:17 Blige, K. Gist, C. Cofield, D. Crofts, J. Seals Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
13 "Feel Like Makin' Love" 4:42 Blige, Jamison, S. Jordan, Combs Sean "Diddy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen
14 "It's a Wrap" 4:20 Blige, Winans, Combs Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen
15 "Message in Our Music (Interlude)" 2:14 Blige, Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert Mickens, Claydes Smith, A. Taylor, Dennis Thomas, Rick Westfield Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
16 "All My Love" 4:16 Blige, Miller, D. Christo, Combs, D. Addrisi, R. Addrisi Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
17 "Special Part of Me" 4:33 Blige, Combs, Winans Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen
18 "Ultimate Relationship (A.M.)" 5:05 D. Lawrence, S. White Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen
Bonus tracks

Bonus US Limited Edition DVD:

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (2003) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1
Canadian Albums Chart 6[12]
German Albums Chart 21[13]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
The Neptunes Present... Clones by Various artists		 Billboard 200 number-one album
September 7, 2003		 Succeeded by
Metamorphosis by Hilary Duff

References

  1. ^ link
  2. ^ link
  3. ^ link
  4. ^ link
  5. ^ link
  6. ^ link
  7. ^ link
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 23, 2003). The Commoner Queen. The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2011-01-09.
  9. ^ http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/archcht.cgi?cht859
  10. ^ Mary J. Blige: Love & Life (2003): Reviews Metacritic. Accessed November 8, 2007.
  11. ^ http://fanofmusic.free.fr/BestSellers.php?Act=MaryJBlige
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]
Mary J. Blige
Studio albums
Live albums
  • The Tour
  • My Collection of Love Songs (Live)
Remix albums
Compilation albums
Home media
  • 411 Videos
  • Live from Los Angeles
  • An Intimate Evening with Mary J. Blige: Live from The House of Blues
Concert tours
Related articles
  • Book
  • Category
Mary J. Blige singles
What's the 411?
My Life
Share My World
Mary
No More Drama
Love & Life
The Breakthrough
Reflections - A Retrospective
Growing Pains
Stronger With Each Tear
My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)
"25/8" · "Mr. Wrong"
Soundtracks
"(You Make Me Feel like) a Natural Woman"  · "Not Gon' Cry" · "Stronger"  · "The Living Proof"
Guest appearances
"Check It Out" · "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" · "Can't Knock the Hustle" · "Lean on Me" · "911"  · "Back 2 Life 2001"  · "Come Close"  · "I Try"  · "Ain't No Way"  · "Be Easy" · " Runaway Love"  · "Wake Up Call (Mark Ronson Remix)" · "You're Welcome" · "Just Stand Up!" · "IfULeave" · "Remember Me" · "This Is To Mother You" · "What Child Is This" · "Hard Times Come Again No More" · "Bridge Over Troubled Water" · "It Ain't Over, Til' It's Over" ·
Promotional singles
Book · Category