Family Affair (Mary J. Blige song)

"Family Affair" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, her brother Bruce Miller, Camara Kambon, Michael Elizondo, and Dr. Dre for her fifth studio album No More Drama (2001), while production was overseen by the latter. "Family Affair" is a song that incorporates elements of hip hop and R&B. The music for the track was originally created in a jam session between Dre and musicians Mel-Man, Camara Kambon, Mike Elizondo and Scott Storch. Later, Blige heard the song that her brother Bruce Miller, Asiah the Continent and Luchi Lodge created the lyrics and melody to and decided on recording her vocals.

"Family Affair"
Single by Mary J. Blige
from the album No More Drama
Released	June 12, 2001
Recorded	2001[1]
Genre	R&B hip hop soul dance-pop
Length	4:25 4:04 (radio edit)
Label	MCA
Songwriter(s)	Mary J. Blige Andre Young Bruce Miller Camara Kambon Michael Elizondo
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"911" (2001) "Family Affair" (2001) "Dance for Me" (2001)
Audio sample
file help
Music video
"Family Affair" on YouTube

The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks starting from November 3, 2001, ending a ten-week lockup of the top two positions on the chart by Alicia Keys' "Fallin'" and Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", which combined have spent the previous eleven weeks atop the chart. It was Blige's first and only Hot 100 number-one single, and her first top ten single in five years. In 2008, for Billboard magazine's 50th Anniversary, "Family Affair" was listed as the 79th-biggest single on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.[2] while at the end of 2009 was named the 12th most successful song from 2000 to 2009, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.[3] Rolling Stone ranked it number ninety-five on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s decade.[4]

The accompanying music video was directed by Dave Meyers. In 2007, this song was used on a Propel Fitness Water commercial. On September 6, 2012, Blige performed the song at the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A remix featuring rappers Jadakiss and Fabolous was later released promotionally but never commercially.

Background

"Family Affair" was written by Blige, her brother Bruce Miller, Camara Kambon, Mike Elizondo, and Dr. Dre.[5] Production was helmed by the latter.[5] Dre created an initial version of the musical portion of "Family Affair" in studio on September 13, 2000, using a bass player and a keyboard player.[6] His studio engineers entitled this version of the song "Fragile" for record-keeping purposes.[6] Near the end of 2000, he sent Blige the instrumental track.[6] Blige recorded vocals over the music based on lyrics penned by Miller, Kambon and Elizondo.[6] Several weeks later, on January 10, 2001, a near-final but non-lyrical portion of "Fragile" was transferred from digital to analog format and renamed "Family Affair".[6] In late May or early June 2001, at Dr. Dre's suggestion, Blige added a bridge to the song, for which she alone crafted the lyrics.[6]

Composition

Family Affair is written in the key of G-sharp minor with a moderate tempo of 93 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression C♯m−G♯m7−C♯m−G♯m7, and Blige's vocals span from G♯₃ to B₄.[7]

Formats and track listings

European CD single[8]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Family Affair" (Radio Edit)	4:02
2.	"Family Affair" (Album Version)	4:28
3.	"Your Child" (Chucky Thompson's Late Nite Mix)	3:12
4.	"Your Child" (Music video)	3:43

US CD single[9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Family Affair" (Album version)	4:31
2.	"Family Affair" (Remix featuring Fabolous & Jadakiss)	4:03
3.	"Family Affair" (Instrumental)	4:29
4.	"Family Affair" (Acapella)	4:11
5.	"Checkin' for Me"	3:05

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001–2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[14] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 2 France (SNEP)[16] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 10 Greece (IFPI)[18] 12 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[19] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 5 Italy (FIMI)[21] 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[25] 8 Poland (Polish Airplay Charts)[26] 12 Scotland (OCC)[27] 16 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 7 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[30] 8 UK Dance (OCC)[31] 7 UK R&B (OCC)[32] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[34] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[36] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position Australia (ARIA)[37] 98 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[38] 35 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[39] 24 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[40] 12 France (SNEP)[41] 14 Germany (Official German Charts)[42] 70 Ireland (IRMA)[43] 26 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[44] 18 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[45] 32 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 35 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 9 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[48] 59 US Billboard Hot 100[49] 31 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[50] 17 Chart (2002) Position Australia (ARIA)[51] 91 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[52] 82 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[53] 30 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 68 US Billboard Hot 100[55] 17 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[56] 63 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position US Billboard Hot 100[57] 12 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[58] 99

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[59]	Gold	35,000^^
France (SNEP)[60]	Gold	420,000[61]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62]	Gold	5,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[63]	Gold	15,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[64]	Platinum	40,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[65]	Platinum	600,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

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2. "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs". Billboard. 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
3. "Charts". Billboard.
4. "100 Best Songs of the Aughts: Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
5. No More Drama (Standard Edition). Mary J. Blige. MCA. 2001.CS1 maint: others (link)
6. "Jones v. Blige 558 F.3d 485 (6th Cir. 2009)". USC Gould School of Law. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
7. Michael "Mike", Elizondo; Asiah, Lewis; N, Lodge, Luchana; J, Blige, Mary; Camara, Kambon; Bruce, Miller; Melvin, Bradford; J, Blige, Mary (September 11, 2001). "Family Affair". Musicnotes.com.
8. "Mary J. Blige — Family Affair (European CD Single)". Discogs. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
9. "Mary J. Blige — Family Affair (US CD Single)". Discogs. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
10. "Australian-charts.com – Mary J Blige – Family Affair". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
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19. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
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31. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
32. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
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34. "Mary J Blige Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
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40. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 52. December 22, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
41. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2001" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
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47. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2001" (in German). Retrieved May 24, 2018.
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50. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
51. "2002 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
52. "Year in Review – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21 no. 2–3. January 11, 2003. p. 14. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
53. "End of Year Charts 2002". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
54. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2002". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved January 27, 2020.
55. "Billboard Top 100 – 2002". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
56. "R&B/Hip-Hop Songs — Year End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
57. "The Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of the 2000s". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
58. "Hot 100 60th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
59. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
60. "French single certifications – Mary J Blige – Family Affair" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
61. "Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP (Bilan par Artiste) > "BLIGE M.J." > "OK". InfoDisc. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
62. "New Zealand single certifications – Mary J. Blige – Family Affair". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
63. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
64. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Mary J. Blige; 'Family Affair')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
65. "British single certifications – Mary J. Blige – Family Affair". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 5, 2020.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics