"Suitcase" is a song by American recording artist

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

. It was co-written by

Mark J. Feist Mark J. Feist (born in Melbourne) is a multi-platinum producer/songwriter who has contributed to the sale of over 25 million records worldwide. Feist currently resides in Los Angeles. Early age Mark Feist began expressing himself musically a ...

Crystal Nicole Crystal Nicole Johnson, sometimes credited as Cristyle is an American recording artist, singer, and songwriter who signed her first deal with So So Def/EMI Music in 2007. Crystal Nicole signed with Blackground Records/ Interscope Records in Oc ...

, and Adrian Sotomayor, and produced by the former for Blige's soundtrack album ''

Think Like a Man Too ''Think Like a Man Too'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story. It is the sequel to the 2012 film ''Think Like a Man'', based on Steve Harvey's book '' Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The script was written by David A. ...

'' (2014), recorded for the comedy film of the same name. Sent as the album's lead and only single for

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

and

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

airplay in the US on June 10, 2014, following the release of the buzz track " A Night to Remember", it reached the top 30 on the US

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

chart.

Background

On May 30, 2014, it was announced that Blige had recorded an entire collection of music from and inspired by

Tim Story Timothy Kevin Story (born March 13, 1970) is an African American film director. He is best known for '' Barbershop'' (2002), the '' Fantastic Four'' (2005) and the ''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for O ...

's comedy film ''

'', the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to Story's 2012 film ''

Think Like a Man ''Think Like a Man'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story, written by Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, and produced by Will Packer. It was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book ''Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. The fil ...

'' based on

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...

's book '' Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man''. Comprising 14 new recordings, including a remake of

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

's hit " A Night to Remember" as well as collaborations with musicians

Jerry Duplessis Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis (born 9 August 1975) is a Haitian music producer, film score composer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His first major success was as a producer for the Fugees' 1996 album '' The Score''. He also played the bass guitar w ...

, Rodney Jerkins and Pharrell Williams, Blige primarily worked with frequent contributors

Tricky Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. In a career spanning over 30 years, Stewart has won 5 Grammys and is responsible for over 50 million rec ...

and

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, " Rid ...

, who produced the bulk of the album. While the soundtrack was nearing completion, producer

was able to submit one of his

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

records. After working on different track ideas, Feist traveled to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

to work with upcoming singer Crystal Nicole. During that particular visit, the pair penned "Suitcase", which resulted from them "trying to write a bunch of female empowerment records." Written in an hour and a half, Feist further elaborated on the writing process with Nicole: "We just sat there in her basement and she had a pen in her hand and she sung me a hook, a verse and then I jumped up and down, screaming 'That's it, that's it' and then we cut it." Once the demo of "Suitcase" was completed, Epic Records head

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

became instrumental in getting Blige on it.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Suitcase" was directed by Mike Ho. In the clip, with mascara running down her eyes, a teary-eyed and disheveled Blige sits in an all-white room while being observed by men in lab coats. Her man, played by actor Christian Keyes, stands on the other side of the glass as she reflects on all the heartache he has caused her.

Charts

Weekly charts

References

External links

MaryJBlige.com
— official site {{Mary J. Blige singles 2014 singles 2014 songs Mary J. Blige songs Songs written by Crystal Nicole Epic Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads 2010s ballads Songs written by Mark J. Feist