Month: July 2025

Following the runaway success of “On & On” and its mighty follow-up “Next Lifetime,” Erykah Badu released her third single and music video, “Otherside of the Game” in July of 1997. Where the first two singles established her as a singer wise beyond her years, with knowledge of the spiritual laws that govern the world, and a third eye pointed towards the afterlife, “Otherside of the Game,” reminded listeners that she was of this planet, with squarely human concerns.

The song contemplates the conflicting feelings that come from being in a relationship with someone who makes a living outside the law. An easy presumption is drug dealing but, like any true ride or die would do, the specifics are withheld. “Work ain’t honest but it pays the bills,” she repeats as increasing concern playing out on her face.

Written and directed by Badu, the music video plays out as one continuous shot in the large and bohemian chic apartment of the conflicted Badu and her lover. The camera follows them as they wake, dress, tease each other, cuddle, and even do business with what seem to be dirty cops.

As if to further reiterate how much she’s just like us, stressing over loved ones and contemplating difficult decisions, she cast her then-partner Andre 3000 as the street-employed love interest and made a direct reference to her pregnancy with their son Seven. “What are we gonna do when they come for you?” she asks. Having had a father who was in and out of the carceral system, Badu’s lyrics ring with an air of truth.

Badu wrote and arranged the music of the song with James Poyser of the Roots in a single day in Philadelphia. That evening she wrote the lyrics and the next day she recorded it. Peaking at #14 on the R&B Airplay chart in August of 1997, the song didn’t enjoy the same success as her earlier singles. That said, it has aged like fine wine, as evidenced by the countless “throwback” articles in recent years obsessing over the song and music video.

Buy Erykah Badu’s music on vinyl or CD now.

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In the summer of 2014, Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj teamed up for the ultimate powerhouse anthem, “Bang Bang.” Immediately upon its release, on July 28, fans and critics knew the song was something special.

As a collaboration featuring three leading women in pop – one of them a top raptress – ‘Bang Bang” was a “Lady Marmalade” for a new generation. Just as Maya, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Lil’ Kim had turned LaBelle’s hit 70s single into a 21st-century anthem, the playful wit and diva showboating of “Bang Bang” ensured that the track’s soulful vibes and schoolyard chant would be ingrained in the pop-culture consciousness.

“I put my vocal on it, and it just felt special, exciting”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jessie J revealed the origins of the single. Revered hitmaker Max Martin initially sent her a demo of the track and the singer immediately fell in love with it. She reworked some of the lyrics while recording her parts at Metropolis Studios in London. “After Max sent it over, I rewrote some of the song and made it feel more me,” the singer recalled. “I put my vocal on it, and it just felt special, exciting.”

While she’d initially planned on including some new tracks on a US reissue of her 2013 studio album, Alive, the UK singer decided to save “Bang Bang” for her third record, Sweet Talker. Stopping by during the recording session, both David Guetta and Emeli Sandé praised Jessie J’s vocals, but there were some missing pieces to the puzzle.

“I want to get Ariana to jump on it”

After hearing Jessie J’s contribution, the song’s producer and songwriter, Martin, pushed to get another powerhouse vocalist on the track. “I want to get Ariana to jump on it,” he told Jessie.

“Bang Bang” had originally been intended for Ariana Grande, who was in the process of completing her sophomore album, My Everything. To the disappointment of Martin, Savan Kotecha, and Ilya Salmanzadeh – the same producers who delivered Grande’s hit single “Problem,” featuring Iggy Azalea – Ariana hated her original recording and scrapped it. Martin, however, envisioned creating an anthem that captured the spirit of old girl-group singles.

Wendy Goldstein, Executive VP/Head Of Urban A&R at Republic Records, also believed Grande was a great fit for the song. She convinced Monte Lipman, the label’s CEO, to set up a meeting with the star. Lipman played the collab version for Grande, who responded, “No way,” after hearing Jessie J’s part. She decided to give “Bang Bang” another shot and ended up slotting it on the deluxe edition of My Everything.

“I was on the floor… I was like, This is insane”

What makes “Bang Bang” stand apart from other collaborations is Nicki Minaj’s verse. Following Jessie J’s recording sessions, Minaj played the song one time, immediately knowing “it was special”. The summer of 2014 had been a busy one for the rapper: she was in the process of recording her third album, The Pinkprint, finessing her guest verse on Beyoncé’s “***Flawless (Remix)” and preparing for the release of her controversial single “Anaconda.”

In an interview with Carson Daly, Minaj also remarked that Jessie J’s voice “does not get enough credit”. Prior to “Bang Bang,” Jessie J had wanted to collaborate with Minaj for a while, having her in mind for the 2011 song “Do It Like A Dude.” After hearing Minaj’s “Bang Bang” verse, Jessie J knew the track was complete. Grande also was floored by the MC’s contribution. “I was on the floor,” Grande told Revolt TV. “It was a surprise to me; I was like, This is insane.”

“That’s what I feel like young women, especially, need to hear”

The group’s chemistry on record also translated to the accompanying music video, in which the trio takes to the streets and rooftops of an imagined New York City, each getting their time to shine, showing off their individual talents. Jessie J didn’t even meet Grande or Minaj until the video shoot, after the song had already reached No.1 on iTunes.

Shot in two days in Los Angeles, the video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who made sure each star had equal screen time. Jessie J pointed out how “all three of us look so different, and we’re all equally confident”. The point of the video wasn’t for the singers to rival each other, but to celebrate their uniqueness as powerful women. “I’m not going to rival what she has, but I’ve got what I’ve got,” Jessie J told Rolling Stone. “That’s what I feel like young women, especially, need to hear.”

The video helped “Bang Bang” continue its assault on the mainstream. After debuting at No.6 on Billboard’s Hot 100, it quickly moved up to the No.3 spot, becoming of the biggest summer anthems that year. The song also debuted at No.1 in the UK and became Grande’s second Top 10 single and second release to debut at the top spot that year.

Listen to the best of Jessie J on Apple Music and Spotify.

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Allow us to reminisce, about a promising 21-year old R&B singer who created the blueprint for contemporary R&B today. On July 28, 1992, Mary J. Blige released her game-changing debut album, What’s The 411?, and introduced to the world a fusion of R&B hooks and hip-hop beats and a sly producer named Puff Daddy.

At 18, Blige was the youngest artist and first woman signed to MCA’s hip-hop label, Uptown, founded by the late Andre Harrell a former VP at Def Jam who signed Blige after hearing her sing a version of Anita Baker’s 1986 hit, “Caught Up in the Rapture” and immediately signed her in 1989.

A new hybrid genre – hip-hop soul

It was at Uptown she would hook up with intern-turned A&R man and producer Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) who had taken on the reins for the newly signed acts, Blige and the R&B quartet, Jodeci. Combs was set on taking Teddy Riley’s ‘New Jack Swing’ and adapting it for the new generation by layering smooth R&B melodies and harmonies over classic hip-hop beats. The result was the new hybrid genre – hip-hop soul, that can be heard on his remix for Jodeci’s “Come & Talk to Me” and Mary J.’s breakout hit, “Real Love” that featured Blige’s powerful vocals over Audio Two’s “Top Billin” beats.

“Puff came with the sound. He came with the hip-hop and Mary came with the soul. That was the hip-hop soul”, Harrell recalled on the Rap Radar Podcast in 2016. “Attitude plus style plus talent was really what Uptown Records was about. We really wouldn’t sign the person who had talent but didn’t have style or attitude.”

She had the whole package

Mary J. Blige had the whole package. She had the street style, the swagger, and the vocal intensity that were missing from the male-dominated rap and soul game in 1991. Hip-hop and New Jack Swing had already been creeping onto the pop charts with the success of Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly” and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em” while contemporary R&B was dominated by power ballads and female belters like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Lisa Fischer.

In the summer of 1992, Blige blew the roof off both, establishing herself as the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul’ when What’s The 411? went triple platinum, spawning six singles, including “You Remind Me” and “Real Love” and selling over 3.4 million copies. For the next year, the album was played indefinitely on rap, soul, and pop radio followed by a slew of remixes that started the cycle all over again.

While many praised Combs as the Svengali of Blige’s success, carefully crafting her fly-girl next-door image and stacking the album with strategic samples and slick production, it was really Blige’s vocal prowess and the way she spoke to people in her songs that gained listeners’ loyalty.

R&B loves its balladry, but Blige brought a sense of realism and gravitas to the heart of it, cutting through the saccharine promises of the crooner landscape to become the patron saint of the broken hearted for years to come. She was vulnerable but certainly not soft and as Blige later told The Guardian in 2005, “I had no idea that my personal pain would create such a big fan base. Everything that was bringing me down was everything that rose me up”.

Blige brought a sense of emotional maturity and self-awareness far beyond her 21 years that resonated with female and male audiences alike. It certainly helped that her debut encapsulated New York-driven hip-hop culture at that time and featured over 10 samples, multiple covers, features, and influences that ranged from Chaka Khan, Ohio Players, Grand Puba, Busta Rhymes, Grover Washington Jr, Biz Markie, Schoolly D, and countless others.

An explosion of confidence

Her debut was an explosion of confidence with the first track “Leave A Message”, featuring just a running montage of hype by Busta “with an A” Rhymes and different artists praising the album. The title is a call back to Blige’s early days as a 4-1-1 telephone operator and from the jump, she breaks it down for the audience. On what otherwise would have been a slow, bittersweet ballad, the MC Lyte-sampling track, “Reminisce,” kicks right into gear with an uptempo, New Jack flavor and features Blige’s raw vocals at the top – proving she didn’t need a beat to impress.

Despite not being the title track, “Real Love” would become Mary’s big breakout and first top ten pop hit, hitting No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a boom-bap anthem for generations. Just a year later, the remix would also top the charts and help put a little-known emcee named Biggie Smalls, on the map.

Her other big single off the album is the gritty torch song, “You Remind Me,” which proved Blige could match vocal runs with the best of them. Unlike the divas of the day who were groomed for the pop charts at a young age, Blige brought her guttural, native-New Yorker inflection and New Jack swagger to create a new style of ballad singing.

Won over the biggest skeptics

Even to the old guard of music criticism, Blige won over even the biggest skeptics with her cover of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing.” Her frank take on the soul classic appealed to a new generation when she warned future lovers, “Don’t be so shady”.

Blige dips into her lower register for the jazz-fused single, “Love No Limit” that’s one of her more experimental gambles on the album and certainly unlike anything else on urban radio at the time. Blige later teams up with K-Ci Hailey from Uptown labelmate, Jodeci on the stirring duet, “I Don’t Want To Do Anything.” The epic slow-jam caused many to speculate that the two were involved, especially after their MTV Unplugged appearance. But their turbulent romance hadn’t started yet, when his brother and Jodeci partner JoJo Hailey wrote the song.

On the closing track “What’s The 411?,” Mary gets to show off her flow and respond to every street corner cat-caller played by Grand Puba with, “Don’t have no time for no wham bam, thank you ma’am!”, then breaking out into a short cover of a Debra Law’s “Very Special.” In just a few short bars, Mary proved she was more than just the around-the-way girl.

Buy Mary J. Blige’s music on vinyl or CD now.

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