Blige caught the attention of former Uptown Records artist Jeff Redd with a recording she made of herself singing Anita Baker’s ballad “Caught Up in the Rapture” at the Galleria Mall in White Plains I was afraid for him because he was this very wealthy man that was in this neighborhood that was terrible, Blige said in the documentary, recalling when Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell came to Schlobohm to hear her sing.
Blige recalled the urgency she felt to get her family out of public housing. I didn t even know what I was doing because I was in survival mode, Blige said. I had to save my family.
“Through all the highs and lows my one constant has been my fans, and I wanted to make this documentary for them,” Mary J. Blige told
People. “To give them more insight into who I was and who I am now, where I’ve come from and where I still want to go and break down an album that completely changed everything for me.
“My Life is the album that really bonded me with my fans who have since been along for what turned out to be a crazy ride. Going back and reliving that time and that music felt like an out-of-body experience, but one I’m so humbled by.”