Share My World

Share My World is the third studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, released by MCA Records on Earth Day, April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her first album where she serves as an executive producer, alongside Steve Stoute, who also shared executive producer credits on the album.

Share My World
Studio album by Mary J. Blige
Released	April 22, 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Studio	The Hit Factory (New York City) Battery Studios Chicago Trax The Chicago Recording Company (Chicago, Illinois) Flyte Tyme Studios (Edina, Minnesota) The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	65:15
Label	MCA Universal
Producer	Steve Stoute Babyface Bryce Wilson George Pearson James Mtume Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Malik Pendleton Poke & Tone Rodney Jerkins R. Kelly
Mary J. Blige chronology
My Life (1994) Share My World (1997) The Tour (1998)
Singles from Share My World
"Love Is All We Need" Released: March 18, 1997 "I Can Love You" Released: May 6, 1997 "Everything" Released: August 4, 1997 "Missing You" Released: October 2, 1997 "Seven Days" Released: March 20, 1998

Guest appearances are made by hip hop and R&B stars such as Lil' Kim, Nas, The LOX, George Benson, Roy Ayers and R. Kelly, the album was released to generally positive reviews from most music critics, and earned Blige numerous accolades and nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album in 1998. The album became her first to chart in the top ten internationally, including Canada, Sweden and the UK, while it entered the top forty in countries such as New Zealand, Germany and France.

It is certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for excess of three million copies sold in the US.[2]

Background

Share My World marked several personal and professional changes in Blige’s life and career. Following the departure of label head Andre Harrell the year before, Blige defected from Uptown Records in favor of its MCA parent. Meanwhile, she severed professional ties with long-time producer, manager and mentor Sean "Puffy" Combs shortly before the production of Share My World began. His absence was filled with a bevy of high-profile producers, such as: Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Bryce Wilson and R. Kelly. The end result produced an album that was less entrenched in the hip hop soul of her first two albums, and replaced with a style that was more aligned with R&B.

During the making and run of her second album My Life (1994), Blige had reportedly experienced clinical depression, while also battling drug and alcohol addiction, and enduring an often turbulent relationship with K-Ci Hailey — all of which heavily influenced the dark mood of that album. In late 1996, however, Blige reportedly made a concerted effort to clean up her life and subsequently found herself in more positive frame of mind while recording Share My World, which influenced the albums noticeably lighter mood.

Release and reception

Commercial performance

For the Billboard issue dated May 10, 1997, Share My World debuted at number one on both the US Billboard 200 and R&B Albums chart with sales of 240,000 copies, marking Blige's first official number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart.[3] The album had ended the four-week stint of Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G., which was released posthumously five weeks earlier.

In addition to debuting number one in the US, the album also debuted in the top ten in countries such as Canada, Sweden and the UK. The album also reached the top forty in France, Germany and New Zealand.

Share My World was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies in the US on July 1, 1997. On November 17, 1997, Share My World was later certified double platinum by the RIAA and during an episode of MTV Live, Blige was presented with the plaque by host Ananda Lewis.[4] The album has since sold three million copies domestically by May 1999, garnering Blige's third consecutive album to reach multi-platinum status by the RIAA.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Chicago Tribune	[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Spin	8/10[11]
USA Today	[12]
The Village Voice	A−[13]

Alex Henderson of AllMusic wrote in his review, "Her strongest and most confident effort up to that point, Share had much more character, personality, and honesty than most of the assembly line fare dominating urban radio in 1997. For all their slickness, emotive cuts like "Get to Know You Better," "Love Is All We Need," and "Keep Your Head" left no doubt that Blige was indeed a singer of depth and substance. Although high tech, the production of everyone from R. Kelly (with whom she duets on the inviting "It's On") and Babyface to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis doesn't come across as forced or robotic, but, in fact, is impressively organic."[14] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone commended Blige's transition from sound to singing, writing that "On Share My World even Blige's harshest critics will have to concede that she's moved beyond sound to real singing. Listen to "Seven Days," "Missing You" and the already-classic "Not Gon' Cry" (also on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack), and you hear Blige's signature ache married to newfound technique. There's shading, depth and control in her vocals now."[15] Steve Jones of USA Today said the songs "run the usual gamut of love themes, but it's Blige's powerful, emotional deliveries and street sensibility that separate her from the competition."[12] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "Blige is a diva for her own time. As befits her hip hop ethos, she's never soft if often vulnerable, and as befits her hip hop aesthetic, she plays her natural vocal cadences for melodic signature and sometimes hook. She redefines the New York accent for the '90s. And she's taken two straight follow-ups to the next level."[13]

Jonathan Bernstein from Entertainment Weekly was more critical, finding Share My World "uneven" and the songwriting "meandering and half finished."[16] Tom Moon later wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the record displayed "Blige's hit-song savvy but fewer memorable performances" than previous albums.[10]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Category	Result
25th Annual American Music Awards	Favorite Soul/R&B Album	Won
25th Annual American Music Awards	Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist	Nominated
40th Grammy Awards	Best R&B Album	Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards	Best R&B/Soul Album - Female	Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards	Best R&B/Soul Single - Female (for "Everything")	Nominated
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards	Best R&B/Soul Album	Won
NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Female Artist	Nominated

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Poke & Tone, Rich Nice	Poke & Tone, Rich Nice	1:24
2.	"I Can Love You" (featuring Lil' Kim)	Blige, Kimberly Jones, Carlos Broady, Nashiem Myrick	Rodney Jerkins	4:46
3.	"Love Is All We Need" (featuring Nas)	Blige, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Nasir Jones, Rick James	Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis	4:14
4.	"Round and Round"	Blige, Poke, DJ Premier, Shawn Carter	Poke & Tone, George “Golden Fingers” Pearson (co)	4:24
5.	"Share My World (Interlude)"	Poke & Tone, Rich Nice	Poke & Tone, Rich Nice	0:30
6.	"Share My World"	Blige, R. Jerkins	Rodney Jerkins	5:07
7.	"Seven Days" (featuring George Benson)	Malik Pendleton	Malik Pendleton	5:09
8.	"It's On" (featuring R. Kelly)	R. Kelly	R. Kelly	4:42
9.	"Thank You Lord (Interlude)"	Kelly Price, R. Jerkins	Rodney Jerkins	0:44
10.	"Missing You"	Babyface	Babyface	4:16
11.	"Everything"	J. Harris III, T. Lewis, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, James Brown, Linda D. Creed, Thomas R. Bell, John Starks, Fred Wesley	Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis	4:59
12.	"Keep Your Head"	Blige, LaTonya Blige-DaCosta	Poke & Tone, George "Golden Fingers" Pearson	3:48
13.	"Can't Get You Off My Mind" (featuring The LOX)	Blige, R. Jerkins, Jason Phillips, Sean Jacobs, David Styles	Rodney Jerkins	4:39
14.	"Get to Know You Better"	Bryce Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy	Bryce Wilson	4:32
15.	"Searching" (featuring Roy Ayers)	Blige, LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Xenos DaCosta, R. Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, Roy Ayers	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins	5:05
16.	"Our Love"	Chuck Jackson, Marvin Yancy	James Mtume	5:21
17.	"Not Gon' Cry"	Babyface	Babyface	4:54

UK bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman"	Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Jerry Wexler	James Mtume	2:57

Sample credits

• "Everything" contains a sample of "You Are Everything" as performed by The Stylistics; "The Payback" as performed by James Brown; "Sukiyaki" as performed by A Taste of Honey.
• "Get to Know You Better" contains an interpolation of "My Cherie Amour" as performed by Stevie Wonder.[17]
• "I Can Love You" contains a sample of "Queen Bitch" as performed by Lil' Kim.
• "Love Is All We Need" contains a sample of "Moonchild" as performed by Rick James.
• "Round and Round" contains a sample of "Go Back Home" as performed by Allen Toussaint.
• "Share My World" contains an interpolation of "Share My World" by DeBarge.

Personnel

Credits for Share My World adapted from AllMusic.[18]

Musicians

Roy Ayers – Vibraphone George Benson – Guitar Gene Bianco – String Arrangements, String Conductor, String Contractor LaTonya Blige-DaCosta – Vocals (Background) Mary J. Blige – Executive Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Darryl Brown – Bass Mary Brown – Vocals (Background) Michael "Dino" Campbell – Guitar Mike Campbell – Guitar Lafayette Carthon, Jr. – Keyboards Minio Class – Fender Rhodes DJ Do It All – Scratching Nathan East – Bass Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds – Arranger, Drum Programming, Keyboards, Musician, Producer Basil Fearrington – Bass

Michael Jordan – Guitar R. Kelly – Instrumentation, Mixing, Multi Instruments, Performer, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Lil' Kim – Rap The LOX – Rap Josh Milan – Keyboards Ed Moore – Guitar Ed Tree Moore – Guitar James Mussen – Drums Nas – Rap Dunn Pearson, Jr. – Keyboards Malik Pendleton – Mixing, Multi Instruments, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) Mike Scott – Guitar Shanice – Vocals (Background) Abdulhameed Zuhri – Guitar

Production

Dionne Alexander – Hair Stylist Bilal Allah – Sequencing Engineer Kyle Bess – Assistant Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant Bob "Bassy" Bob Brackmann – Mixing Chris Brickley – Engineer Trey Fratt – Assistant Engineer Ben Garrison – Engineer Jon Gass – Mixing Stephen George – Engineer, Mixing, Programming Brad Gilderman – Engineer Kenny J. Gravillis – Art Direction, Design Steve Hodge – Engineer, Mixing Jimmy Jam – Arranger, Instrumentation, Multi Instruments, Musical Associate, Producer Fred Jerkins III – Mixing, Multi Instruments, Producer Rodney Jerkins – Arranger, Drum Arrangements, Drum Programming, Instrumentation, Introduction, Mixing, Multi Instruments, Musician, Producer, Rap, Vocals Derek Khan – Stylist Jeff Lane – Assistant Engineer Ken Lewis – Engineer, Mixing Terry Lewis – Arranger, Instrumentation, Multi Instruments, Musical Associate, Producer Ron Lowe – Assistant Engineer Tony Maserati – Engineer, Mixing Mr Lee – Programming James Mtume – Keyboards, Producer

Rich Nice – Arranger, Narrator, Producer Appolon "Chap" Noel – Assistant, Assistant Engineer, Engineer Nzínga – Make-Up One Drop Scott – Arranger, Drum Programming George R. "Golden Fingers" Pearson – Keyboards, Producer Angela Piva – Engineer, Mixing Poke – Arranger, Drum Programming, Producer Poke & Tone – Arranger, Drum Programming Herb Powers – Mastering David Radin – Sequencing Dexter Simmons – Engineer, Mixing Ivy Skoff – Production Assistant, Production Coordination Xavier Smith – Assistant, Assistant Engineer, Mixing, Mixing Assistant Steve Stoute – Executive Producer, Sequencing Greg Thompson – Assistant Engineer Ed Tinley – Assistant, Assistant Engineer, Engineer Tizone – Mixing Tone – Arranger, Drum Programming, Producer Richard Travali – Engineer, Mixing Tom Vercillo – Engineer, Mixing Randy Walker – MIDI, MIDI Programming, Programming Kevin Westenberg – Photography Bryce Wilson – Keyboards, Producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19]	71
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20]	4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21]	11
French Albums (SNEP)[22]	31
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23]	37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24]	27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25]	90
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26]	8
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27]	41
UK Albums (OCC)[28]	8
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[29]	1
US Billboard 200[30]	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	Platinum	100,000^^
Japan (RIAJ)[33]	Gold	100,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[35]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1997 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)

References

1. Jenkins, Craig (July 10, 2014). "11. Mary J Blige, Share My World - The 50 Best R&B albums of the '90s". Complex. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
2. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
3. "Mary J. Blige's Share My World Tops Album Chart". MTV. Viacom International Inc. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
4. "Mary-J-Blige on MTV Live". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
5. Allmusic review
6. Kot, Greg (April 25, 1997). "Share My World (MCA)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Mary J. Blige". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
8. Entertainment Weekly review
9. Hardy, Ernest (April 25, 1997). "Mary J. Blige: Share My World : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
10. Moon, Tom (2004). "Mary J. Blige". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 83–4. ISBN 0743201698.
11. Robson, Britt (June 1997). "Records". Spin. p. 118. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
12. USA Today review
13. Christgau, Robert (November 4, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
14. "Share My World - Mary J. Blige | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
15. "Mary J. Blige: Share My World : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". 2007-11-14. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
16. "Share My World". EW.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
17. "Mary J. Blige's 'Get to Know You Better' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
18. Credits: Share My World. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-01-17.
19. "Australiancharts.com – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3202". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mary J. Blige – My Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
22. "Lescharts.com – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
23. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
24. "Charts.nz – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
26. "Swedishcharts.com – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
27. "Swisscharts.com – Mary J. Blige – My Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
28. "Mary J. Blige | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
29. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
30. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
31. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
32. "Canadian album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". Music Canada.
33. "Japanese album certifications – MAry J. Blige – Share My World" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
34. "British album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Share My World in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
35. "American album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Share My World at Discogs