"Reminisce" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige from her debut album, '' What's the 411?'' (1992). It was co-written by

Kenny Greene Kenny Greene (January 17, 1969 – October 1, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter who was also a member of the R&B group Intro. Career As a member of the R&B group Intro, Greene wrote and produced many of the group's tracks and was l ...

and

Dave "Jam" Hall Dave Hall ( Dave "Jam" Hall) is an American record producer. He is best known for working on Mary J. Blige's debut album ''What's the 411?'' (including the No. 1 R&B hit single "You Remind Me"); co-writing and co-producing with Madonna several t ...

, who also produced it. Described as a

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

song inspired by 1970s soul music, it contains a sample of "Stop, Look, Listen" (1989) by American rapper MC Lyte. The single peaked at number fifty-seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A more uptempo and hip hop-inspired remix of the song, featuring duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth, later appeared on Blige's 1993 remix album of the same name.

Critical reception

Daryl McIntosh from Albumism said that the song "followed what seemed to be Combs' formula" for the Yonkers, "by revolving around another '80s hip-hop sample, this time from

Audio Two Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". History The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was ...

's close associate and femcee rhyme titan MC Lyte's "Stop, Look, and Listen". The Daily Vault's Mark Millan described it as "a slick, Whitney-esque R&B track that gives Blige a chance to prove she can sing just as well as rap."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

commented in his weekly UK chart commentary, "All of a sudden soul is making a comeback, helped in part perhaps by a new show on Radio 1 on Wednesday nights devoted to the music. Reminisce thus becomes another in a long line of

New Jack Swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

tracks to chart in this region although none have gone on to major success." '' Music Weeks ''RM'' Dance Update wrote that the song is "superb". '' The Observer'' noted that it "hinted at the loss and melancholy behind much of hip hop's aggression".

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American film and music video director Marcus Raboy. It opens with Mary J. Blige struggling to sleep in a bed during a storm. She later performs in the doorway of a large room with gray walls. Throughout the video, a man sometimes appears. "Reminisce" was published on YouTube in June 2009. The video has amassed more than 6,3 million views as of September 2021.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''What's the 411?'' liner notes. * Sean "Puffy" Combs –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, co-producer * Charlie Davis – executive producer *

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Kurt Woodley – executive producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Notes

* {{Mary J. Blige singles 1992 singles Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by Dave Hall (record producer) Songs written by Kenny Greene 1992 songs Song recordings produced by Dave Hall (record producer) MCA Records singles