Mary J. Blige, Testimony | Music Lifts 🎶 🏋

In the 13^th edition of Music Lifts (2023), we’re uplifted by Grammy-winning R&B artist  Mary J. Blige performing, “Testimony.”

Welcome to Music Lifts 🎶 🏋, a column that seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.  Featured songs aren’t genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better – be LIFTED to new heights!  So, for the 13^th edition of Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 (2023), we highlight 🎵 “Testimony” as performed by 🎙 Mary J. Blige.

“But when I raised my head up to the sky / All of the emptiness was gone,” 🎙 Mary J. Blige sings in the pre-chorus of 🎵 “Testimony”, the closing cut on her 2001 album, 💿 No More Drama.  She continues singing, in uplifting fashion, “If you believe you’ll see in time / That everything will be alright.” The 🏆 Grammy winner makes valid points, no cap.  As always, her best attribute is her soulful, anointed voice, which is potent and filled with power.  The pre-chorus prefaces the centerpiece of “Testimony,” the chorus, where MJB asserts, “It’s gonna be alright / Everything will be okay / This is a testimony, Mary’s story / Trouble don’t last always.” TRUE DAT!

Of course, encouragement doesn’t always hit without some context.  Mary J. Blige offers plenty of context early on. In the first verse, she informs of us her rollercoaster: good and bad days, having money and being broke, and loneliness.  In the second, she turns the corner, proclaiming “Through my trials and tribulations I still believe / That God had a greater plan for me.” Amen 👏! Hallelujah 🙌!  Ultimately, Blige’s testimony, penned by herself, 🎼 ✍ Michelle Bell, and producer, 🎛 Kenny “Flav” Dickerson, goes from anticipating God’s goodness by faith to receiving it. A prime example: “He wiped all my tears away.” And splendid if underrated moment from No More Drama to say the least.

🎙 Mary J. Blige • No More Drama • 🏷 MCA • 📅 2021

Mary J. Blige, “Testimony”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 No. 13 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; MCA; cottonbro studio, Itzel Sandoval, Neeraj Nagdeve via Pexels]