Mary J. Blige Reflects On Making Iconic "My Life" Album 25 Years Ago

In the newly-released trailer, Blige explains that she turned to write music as a way to cope with all of the challenges she faced in her childhood while growing up in Yonkers, New York.

“In the neighborhood we lived in, it’s like prison,” she said in the clip. “There was a lot wrong, and there was a lot I needed to get out. That’s why I had that pen.”

She went on to talk about making My Life, calling the album her darkest project, since it was made at “one of the darkest times I’ve had.”

Amazon Studios first announced that the documentary was in the works in 2019, in conjunction with the 25 years anniversary of the album’s release. At the time, Blige acknowledged the album’s 25th anniversary, writing on Instagram that she was in “so much pain” when she made it. 

“25 years ago this album was released and I didn’t know what it would do or how successful it would be,” she  wrote in 2019. “I was in so much pain and was ready to check out and I know I needed to say these things to get them off my chest. I released this album to the world and it opened the doors to people who were in pain just like me. It touched so many people lives in the world and it gave me confirmation that I wasn’t alone and we had to fight for our lives.”

She continued, “The fight wasn’t pretty and is still hard at times but we keep fighting and now we are here as an example that if we outlast our opposition and keep fighting and don’t give up, life will continue to get better.”