With this cutting-edge debut, Mary J. Blige became the reigning queen of her own hybrid category: hip-hop soul. In retrospect, it is easier to place the album into the context of her career and, as such, to pinpoint the occasions when it runs wide of the rails. For instance, the synthesizer-heavy backdrops ("Reminisce," "Love No Limit") are sometimes flatter or more plastic than either the songs or Blige's passionate performances deserve, while the answering-machine skits, much-copied in ...   [ read more ]

CD $9.45

Listeners of Mary J. Blige's seasoned and confident fifth studio release will have zero problems remembering the album's title, No More Drama. An urban-sounding vocal sample that sings, "Mary J. Blige, no more drama," plays throughout the length of the 17-track disc. This very well may be the first time such a tactic has been used in contemporary music; generally a vocal sample repeats throughout the course of only one song, but because the fare on No More Drama is so good, this recurring vo...   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

Perhaps the single finest moment in Sean "Puffy" Combs' musical career has been the production on this, Mary J. Blige's second proper album. The production is not exactly original, and there is evidence here of him borrowing wholesale from other songs. The melodic sources this time around, though, are so expertly incorporated into the music that they never seem to be intrusions, instead playing like inspired dialogues with soulsters from the past, connecting past legacies with a new one. This certain...   [ read more ]

CD $13.25