Mary J. Blige shares details about her journey from poverty to music icon in the trailer for the new Amazon documentary Mary J. Blige’s My Life.
The original film explores what inspired the music legend’s critically acclaimed 1994 album “My Life,” and the impact making the record had on her.
“’My Life’ is probably my darkest album at one of the darkest times I’ve had,” Blige says in the newly released trailer for the documentary. “Most of the time, I was just depressed and didn’t want to live. I had it all inside and I was able to sing it and write it, and I didn’t know that so many people felt the same way.”
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The nine-time Grammy Award winner also recalls the despair she witnessed growing up in a housing project in Yonkers, New York and how writing music “saved” her life.
“In the neighborhood we lived in, it was like prison,” Blige shares. “There was a lot wrong and I needed to get out. That’s why I had that pen.”
According to the official description for the film, the singer, songwriter, actress and producer “reveals the demons and blessings that inspired the record and propelled her to international stardom. She celebrates the 25th anniversary of her most influential work by performing the album live for the first time.”
The movie is executive produced by Blige and Sean “Diddy” Combs, who produced the singer’s music after she was signed to Uptown Records.
“Nobody sounds like her,” Combs says in the trailer. The movie comes from Oscar-winning filmmaker Vannessa Roth (Freeheld). Quincy Jones serves as executive music producer. Additional executive producers include Tara Long, Mark Ford, and Kevin Lopez.
Mary J. Blige’s My Life begins streaming Friday, June 25 on Amazon Prime Video. Watch the trailer below.
