Mary's new album "No More Drama" says it all because I've been through a lot of drama the past 3 yrs. and it helped me a lot the song "Family Affair" is off the hzzook and slammin' on the charts, radio & video airwaves, and into the stores by my dawg Mighty Mighty DR.
So if you go through a lot of drama you gotta cop this disc and track # 17 "Testimony" which talks about herself having a lot of
bad days, depression, not enough love from people, loneliness, just aout the same as the slammin' Jimmy Jam-Terry Lewis produced title cut, it embodies the portion of the CBS television soap opera Y&R(Young & The Restless theme).
Neptunes are also on this album after producing for Busta Rhymes, Ray J. Ludacris, Usher, Mystikal, NERDZ, Babyface, and among others, the track "Steal Away" should be the next single cause it expresses how Mary wants to have the "real love" back again & last but not least the track entitled "Where I've Been" is so so crunk cause it talks about how she (mary) was bron and raised back in the day listening to Michael Jackson records all of the time which is produced by Ruff Ryders own Swizz Beatz, but there are a few mishaps but still this album is worth buying than Juvenile's "Project English".
Go ahead and cop this album cause Mary's back you want be dissapponted after all the other R&B singers and we must say that we can't forget about the late Aaliyah Dana Haughton.
Love Jamaal Da hey!

After 10 years in the game, Mary is still doin it! For her 5th studio album, Mary is taking it back to hip hop, and instead of crying over a man, she is celebrating life, Drama Free. NO MORE DRAMA- has all the elements for a tight Mary J. Blige album. For the ballad lovers, she has three tight ones: "2u", "In the Meantime", and "Fly Away". She got hip hop and dance tracks(YES!!), "Family Affair", "Keep it Movin", "Where I've Been", "Dance for Me", and two tight tracks, "LOVE"(She rappin again, and this time its tight!), where she's tellin her lover or anybody to show her some love or "stick it up in your mainframe". The other blazin hip hop song is "Steal Away" which was produced by the Neptunes. A duet between Mary and that Guy from the Neptunes, they are suggesting that they "steal away, leave for a day", escape the pressures of daily life and make love "all damn day"! She also has those woman anthems. "PMS" is definitely one of them. She goes there, and respectfully tells us guys to leave her alone, cause PMS has taken over. TIGHT! What makes the album distinct from the others is the Theme of No More Drama in her life. The title track, which uses the Theme song from "The Young and the Restless", Is like a deep breath of releif. "Testimony" and "Destiny" are the same. On "Destiny", Mary says "No Longer concerned with your opinion, over my life I have Dominion". Words to live by! This album is right up there with her classic "My Life" album. THere is little to no complaints about this album. She wants you to listen and learn, as well as shake ya booty. Even though "Sincerity" did not make the album like she promised two years ago, its aight. That song is old now, and to be honest, it would not even fit on this album. GO COP NO MORE DRAMA!!!!!!

I'm mostly a rock fan who merely dabbles in current R&B (though I do collect classic funk and soul). So I'm hardly an expert, but I do know when people are good at what they do, and I feel that Mary J. Blige is one of the strongest and most talented artists working in R&B today. What sets Mary above the crowd here is the lyrics, as she doesn't bother with the usual romance and good time stuff, and lays down the law with sheer emotion and insight. The running theme in this album is how Mary has moved beyond her personal demons and has a new intelligent and experienced outlook on life, as you can see in the very strong lyrics in "Destiny," "Where I've Been, " the poem "Forever No More," and others. But the great lyrics don't need to carry the album, as Mary has racked up the best producers to keep the music moving as well. Faves include the hard charging "Love," the extra funky and reggae-ish groove in "Dance with Me," and "No More Drama" which is definitely dramatic and features the theme from The Young and the Restless. This is universally great soul that has no trouble breaking out of its boundaries.

The legion of fans following Mary J. Blige knows that her album promises quality - and it's no exception to her 5th album, NO MORE DRAMA - and if anything it's in fact her most diverse and solid effort to root herself as the "queen of hip-hop soul". No longer is she mourning and griping over the loss of love, but she matures into different dimensions of her emotions and talks about life. NO MORE DRAMA produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis proves just how mesmerizing Ms. Blige is when handling emotive soulful rendition; "Keep it moving" is groovy with heavy beats to make you want to spin the dance floor, "Destiny" is painfully excruciating - a paean on one's fate; "PMS" with Lenny Kravitz breathes maturity and understated grief -"LOVE AFFAIR" produced by Dr. Dre is her hot single - and to the later part of the album, "2U" and "In the Meantime" shows her exuberance in soulful ballads - she ends with a poem FOREVER NO MORE that is surprisingly enlighthening - then sums it up with the mellow "TESTIMONY". "Where I've Been" with Eve and her collaboration with Missy Elliot in "NEVER BEEN" is wondrous.

Anyone who listens to her knows that it is not her vocal range that enchant, but her sincerity towards her crooning. The glossy cover of Ms. Blige on NO MORE DRAMA is deceiving - her flamboyance does not do justification to the goods inside; she is an artiste who strives to be creative. Her much-missed soul and rapping is delightfully showcased; the poignancy and maturity is much appreciated. Fortunately, there are no dramatic changes in her honed singing skills - it proves that astute listners can trust vintage Mary J. Blige to deliver with NO MORE DRAMA. It's been long since we ever heard such an incredible feat in 2001.

Okay, here's the run-down of Mary's album. What's the 411?--breakthrough album. My Life--classic. Share My World--more or less something to tide us over until her next release. Mary--a near-classic.

Now, here she is with No More Drama. She may have left the drama behind, but it seems like the hits went away with it, leaving a mixed bag of an album.

Back when Mary first came out, she started the genre Hip-Hop Soul and was dubbed the Queen of it. But years done passed and there are so many women successfully doing this thing now (i.e., Sunshine Anderson). So with this album it seems like the Queen is influenced by the new-schoolers who were influenced by the old-school Mary J. Blige. In other words, Mary J. Blige sounds like a carbon copy of her own self.

This especially shows on her song, "Family Affair". Though it plays well in the clubs, when you sit and listen to it, it features some bad slanguage (like "holleration"), the most simplistic Dr. Dre beat ever made, and a loss of Mary's soulful singing. "Steal Away" is the kind of Neptunes song everybody thought they needed on their album, while the title track is an instance where the theme from "The Young & the Restless" is sampled yet again. And I don't know if the song "PMS" appeals to women because I'm a guy, but let's just say that a more subtle take on this subject would be better, like Angie Stone's "Time of the Month".

But there is good news on this album. "Never Been" featuring Missy Elliott is a good song that will take you back to her My Life days. "2U" is a soothing ballad where Mary sings well despite the lyrical shortcomings. Also, "Dance for Me" shows Mary doing her thang on a Sting sample.

The most innovative song is one that's not sung, which is her poem, "Forever No More". It practically redeems Mary of the few misses on this album and it outdoes any of the good songs on here. No More Drama may make you get crunk up on the dancery but Mary's seen better days.