After 30 years in the music industry, Mary J. Blige is giving fans some insight on the makings of one of her best received albums to date: her 1994 sophomore project, My Life. On Tuesday (June 1), the Queen of Hip Hop Soul took to Instagram to drop the trailer for her upcoming My Life documentary, which will be releasing later this month.
“I’m so excited to share the trailer for my new documentary,” she captioned the teaser. “Get ready to learn the story behind one of the most inspiring albums of all time in. #MJBMyLife with Yours Truly!!”
According to the synopsis of the film, the documentary — executive produced by Diddy — sees Blige opening up about “the demons and blessings” behind the record, which helped take her from the housing projects in New York to “international stardom.”
“My Life is probably my darkest album at one of the darkest times I’ve had,” she is heard saying in the trailer. “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.”
Additionally, fans will get to see Blige will perform the album live for the first time in honor of the 25th anniversary of the album’s release.
My Life, which followed Blige’s debut, What’s the 411?, includes hits like “My Life,” “Mary Jane (All Night Long)” and “I’m Goin’ Down.” The album sold 481,000 copies in its first week and topped the R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, where it remained for 84 weeks. The multiplatinum project peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, later winning the 1995 Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Album. Year later, it was named among the Time’s 100 greatest albums of all time.
Blige later released several projects, including Share My World, No More Drama and Love & Life. She’s also added actress to her accomplishments, starring in “Power” and Mudbound. Her success recently earned her a star on the Apollo Theater’s historic Walk of Fame.
Mary J. Blige’s My Life, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth, premieres June 25 on Amazon Prime. Check out the trailer below.