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. The music for "Family Affair" 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
B-side
ReleasedJuly 24, 2001 (2001-07-24)
Recorded2000
Length
  • 4:25
  • 4:04 (radio edit)
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dr. Dre
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"911"
(2001)		 "Family Affair"
(2001)		 "No More Drama"
(2001)
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-10 single in five years. It was the 12th biggest song of the 2000s decade in the US[1] and as of 2018 the 99th biggest song of all-time in the country. Rolling Stone ranked it number 95 on their list of 100 Best Songs of the 2000s decade.[2] Outside the United States, the song also reached number one in France and the top 10 in 14 additional countries across Europe and Oceania, reaching number two on the Eurochart Hot 100.

Background

"Family Affair" was written by Mary J. Blige, her brother Bruce Miller, Camara Kambon, Mike Elizondo, and Dr. Dre.[3] Production was helmed by the latter.[3] 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.[4] His studio engineers entitled this version of the song "Fragile" for record-keeping purposes.[4] Near the end of 2000, he sent Blige the instrumental track.[4]

Blige recorded vocals over the music based on lyrics penned by Miller, Kambon and Elizondo.[4] 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".[4] 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.[4] A remix featuring rappers Jadakiss and Fabolous appears on the US CD single.[5]

Composition

Family Affair is written in the key of B major with a moderate tempo of 94 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.[6]

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Dave Meyers. The video begins with Blige at a nightclub, wearing skin-revealing outfits. The video was filmed at the nightclub in 2001.

Live performances

On September 6, 2012, Blige performed the song at the last night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ten years later, she also performed it in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.

Track listings
US CD single[5]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (LP version)4:31
2."Family Affair" (remix featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss)4:03
3."Family Affair" (instrumental)4:29
4."Family Affair" (acapella)4:11
5."Checkin' for Me" (LP version)3:05
US 12-inch single[7]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (radio edit)4:02
2."Family Affair" (instrumental)4:28
3."Family Affair" (LP version)4:28
4."Family Affair" (acapella)3:51
UK CD single[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (radio edit)3:35
2."Family Affair" (album version)4:25
3."Your Child" (Chucky Thompson's Late Nite mix)3:12
4."Family Affair" (video) 
UK 12-inch single[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (radio edit)3:35
2."Family Affair" (album version)4:25
3."Your Child" (Chucky Thompson's Late Nite mix)3:12
UK cassette single[10]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (radio edit)3:35
2."Your Child" (Chucky Thompson's Late Nite mix)3:12
European CD single[11]
No.TitleLength
1."Family Affair" (radio edit)4:02
2."Family Affair" (instrumental)4:28
Australasian CD single[12]
No.TitleLength
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" (video)3:43

Charts

Certifications and sales
Certifications and sales for "Family Affair"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[73] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[74] Gold 25,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[75] Gold 4,000^
France (SNEP)[76] Gold 250,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[78] Gold 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[79] Platinum 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] Platinum 600,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Family Affair"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States July 24, 2001
MCA [81]
Australia August 6, 2001 CD [82]
United States September 11, 2001 Contemporary hit radio [83]
United Kingdom September 24, 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [84]

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