{"id":42037,"date":"2010-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/no-more-drama\/"},"modified":"2010-07-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-07-07T00:00:00","slug":"no-more-drama","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/no-more-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"No More Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was the album that catapulted Mary J. Blige from a star to a superstar. Huge sales, more Grammy nominations, and success abroad all marked a turning point in both Blige\u2019s personal and professional life. The inspiration behind this project came from Mary finally freeing herself from a series of abusive relationships and dealing with her own troubled and deprived childhood.\u00a0 All of this was the catalyst or Mary to take control of all aspects of her career, and it\u2019s no coincidence that on No More Drama <\/i>she wrote nearly every lyric on the record, with most of the themes stemming from her own life and past.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

She also succeeded in updating her sound into a sharper, more urban style of the Hip Hop Soul that she had pioneered on her stellar debut release What\u2019s The 411? <\/i>This is still very much an R&B record, but there are some great urban beats present and more bluesy influences than ever before. Mary\u2019s voice sounds fantastic here; it\u2019s that perfect blend of passion, grit, and vulnerability that works so well for this very personal material. Blige also oversaw the production of the album, along with separate producers on several tracks, but as with the songs themselves, the overall presentation and sound of this record was honed by MJB herself.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

A few guest spots are filled by her pals quite admirably, most notably with Eve on the sublime \u201cWhere I\u2019ve Been.\u201d Common raps his way around Blige on \u201cDance For Me,\u201d one of the album\u2019s few light moments. Blige sampled Al Green\u2019s stunning \u201cSimply Beautiful\u201d for the woman\u2019s lament \u201cPMS,\u201d which works beautifully, and rarely has Mary sounded better. \u201cBeautiful Day\u201d and \u201cLove\u201d are hip, upbeat numbers that again recall Blige\u2019s early days as the new diva on the block. \u201cSteal Away\u201d (co-penned by Pharell Williams) is another of this album\u2019s strongest tracks, and the pair really hit it off. The groove is infectious and Blige\u2019s emotive delivery as she begs for love is truly memorable.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Of course, the two biggest hits in this record remain a couple of Blige\u2019s finest moments to date.\u00a0 \u201cFamily Affair\u201d reached the top spot on both the US Billboard and R&B charts, and deservedly so, because it\u2019s brilliant. Possibly one of the most infectious grooves of all time, it is impossible to listen to this song and not get it stuck in your head for hours after. Lyrically, it harbors nothing but a party time attitude, and Mary is in command, encouraging everyone to \u201cCop you a drink, go \u2018head and rock your ice \/ \u2019Cause we\u2019re celebrating no more drama in our life.\u201d\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The other rather sizable hit is still my favorite track on the album and one of MJB\u2019s best songs to date. \u201cNo More Drama\u201d finds Mary lamenting her past in a frank but defiant manner: \u201cOnly God knows where the story ends \/ For me, but I know where the story begins \/ It’s up to us to choose \/ Wether we win or lose \/ And I choose to win.\u201d Blige channels the days of old and gives a measured but highly emotive performance as the song builds to a stunning climax. The most vivid memory of this song that comes to mind whenever I hear it is of Mary\u2019s emotionally-charged performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards that almost set the stage alight, it was so damn hot.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

There really is not one weak or even wasted track on this stunning album, but there is one more piece of the puzzle that\u2019s worth a mention. In 2002, Blige rereleased this album with a selection of new songs that usurped some of the original tracks. Of the new songs, Ja Rule\u2019s appearance on \u201cRainy Dayz\u201d is a definite highlight, as both he and Blige share great chemistry. The slow groove of \u201cHe Think I Don\u2019t Know\u201d is also a welcome addition to this brilliant set and only adds more soul to what is already a truly soulful and emotive body of work.\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

No More Drama <\/i>is just superb in every way, mainly for showcasing the best of MJB\u2019s talents and what she has to offer, more so than any of her work before or since.<\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":30377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7598],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-42037","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-mary-j-blige","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42037"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}