Love No Limit

"Love No Limit" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was co-written by Kenny Greene and Dave "Jam" Hall for her debut album, What's the 411? (1992), while production was overseen by Hall. Released as the album's fourth and final single, the song became a top five hit, reaching number-five on the US R&B singles chart, and peaked at number forty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Hall has stated in interviews, that he wanted to give the song an urban, hip-hop feel to a much more jazzy sound, when it was created.

"Love No Limit"
Single by Mary J. Blige
from the album What's the 411?
ReleasedMay 10, 1993 (1993-05-10)
Genre
Length5:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Kenneth Greene
  • Dave Hall
Producer(s)Dave "Jam" Hall
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"Sweet Thing"
(1993)		 "Love No Limit"
(1993)		 "You Don't Have to Worry"
(1993)
Music video
"Love No Limit" on YouTube

R&B singer Monica sang the song as a tribute at the Essence Awards 2003.[1] Blige later performed the song at the 3rd BET Honors in 2010, as part of a medley of her hits, when she paid tribute to honoree Diddy. The song was also briefly played in the American comedy film CB4 (1993) starring Chris Rock.

"Love No Limit was the last record we wrote for the album. I had a deadline to meet and Diddy was pressuring me to get it done,” he laughs. “He kept calling my house and I told him I had this song called; ‘Love No Limit’ that I wrote with Kenny Greene. He said, ‘Cool. Let me hear it.’ So I played it for him and he said, ‘I like it.’ But I don’t think he was 100% sold on it. We moved forward with it even though it was much different from the rest of the material on the album. It was really jazzy. I was big into old school jazz like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Kenny Greene was church trained so we did the song with a jazzy feel, but it still had a strong beat to it. He wrote a catchy hook to it and Mary loved it. She definitely loved that type of jazz music. This whole album defined her sound per se. We cut the record and I thought it turned out great, but we were still skeptical on how it would be received because it was so different than any of the other stuff on her album. I was amazed when it came out because there would be guys on the corner in the hood blasting the song".

—Dave "Jam" Hall talking to Ebony Magazine about how the song was made.[2]

Critical reception

Daryl McIntosh from Albumism stated that "the emotional love ballad", "Love No Limit", "reinforced Blige's versatility and ability to deliver in the more traditional R&B format."[3] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Once again, her sultry, delightfully seasoned voice melts into a jazzy hip-hop groove. Romantic, swaying gem could become an instant fave at several radio formats. Give in to it."[4]

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was directed by American director Millicent Shelton. It marked the acting debut of British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who later starred on the television series Lost. In the black-and-white video Blige is singing in a club.

Remix version

In the official remix version, which is found on her What's the 411? Remix album, the song opens with a snippet of the original version, then the remix begins with Blige singing it in alternative way: the main beat takes a sample of Keni Burke's "Risin' to the Top" and the 1982 The Gap Band hit "Outstanding" while refraining Anita Baker's 1988 song "Good Love".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the What's the 411? liner notes.[5]

Charts

References
  1. Video on YouTube Monica Sings To MJB At 2003 Essence Awards
  2. . Ebony Magazine. Retrieved on July 28, 2012.
  3. McIntosh, Daryl (July 28, 2017). "Mary J. Blige's Debut Album 'What's the 411?' Turns 25: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  4. Flick, Larry (May 22, 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 110. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  5. Blige, Mary J. (1992). What's the 411? (Liner Notes) (Compact Disc). Mary J. Blige. Uptown Records.
  6. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  7. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  8. "R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Year End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
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