Mary Jane Blige (surname pronounced: /blaɪʒ/) (born January 11, 1971)[2] is an eight-time Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actress who has sold more than forty million albums worldwide. She has received over twenty-six Grammy Award nominations for her work, winning eight, and has been awarded the World Music Legends Award for combining hip hop and soul together. She is widely known as the "Hip Hop artist of the Century". Blige's vocal range registers from alto to mezzo-soprano, but mostly performs in the mezzo-soprano range.
