Mary J. Blige is searching for a real love in this song from early in her career. Written and produced by Cory Rooney and Fat Boys rapper Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, it showcases her signature soul vocals cut with a hip-hop edge.
When the song was written, Blige was being taken advantage of by people in the music industry, so the lyrics describe her situation. Co-writer Cory Rooney recalled to Ebony: "One day, she said with tears in her eyes, 'I just want a real love in my life for once.' We wrote four or five songs before 'Real Love' came together for her. Those songs were more on a Stephanie Mills type of vibe, but no one was really feeling them. She was so emotional back then."
Mary J. Blige thought she found her real love in Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey of Jodeci. They started dating in the early '90s after recording the duet "I Don't Want To Do Anything" for her What's The 411? album. They broke up around 1997, and in 2003, Blige married the producer Kendu Isaacs. They split in 2016. In 2023, Blige explained that she finally found her real love, and it was inside her all along. "That's been the strongest song in my journey," she told Entertainment Tonight. "That's what I've been searching for all my life, for real love and people. But then I've finally been working on myself and found it in myself, and now I'm able to see that love matters and that relationship matters."
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