Mary J. Blige and John Legend have a lot in common. The obvious similarity – both are incredibly successful R&B artists. However, one can apply that same connection to an almost endless number of storied figureheads within the genre. So what is it that makes the relationship between Blige and Legend so exclusive? Crossover success! For nearly a decade Mary was the go-to feature vocalist who was sought out by hip-hop artists across the map. A hook from the R&B superstar was almost the surefire recipe for a radio hit. Fast-forward to the past half-decade and John Legend occupies the same hip-hop/R&B collaboration thrown held by Blige in the years before him. With that said, we’ll save the John Legend collab list for another day. For now, let’s look at the woman who brought the two genres together in a way nobody had ever done before.