Mary J Blige’s fifth studio offering reflects deep and rich world of emotions and spirituality

Divas in pop music are unusual because they do not last long enough (apart from Mariah Carey, possibly) while the soul sisters are full of the kind. Some make it look effortless, getting to the top, like Whitney Houston, for instance, but there are many others who have worked hard to get where they are. In ten years since appearing on the scene Mary J Blige has slowly but surely gained her ground and is justifiably among the greats.

Albums of sister- and rappinghoods have become huge collaborative undertakings and ‘No More Drama’ is no exception. The Neptunes, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Miss ‘Misdemeanour’ Elliott, Dr Dre, handle productions bringing other dimension to the Blige’s songs that enables her to spread her creative wings even further.

Add to that guests like Eve and Lenny Kravitz, among many others, and you start to get the picture of sonic variety this album conveys. There is a quirky ballady type ‘Beautiful Day’, the rhythm-driven ‘Family Affair’ and ‘Dance For Me’, there are touches of hip-hop, snatches of nu-soul, a lot of spirituality, a splash of old glamour. Blige manages to project an image that is a mixture of dame-ness and street-cred, backed by a bundle of sexuality. This is a package that man find irresistible and females envy.

‘Flying Away’ (co-written by her and brother Bruce, also author of several other album cuts) is mid-tempo erotic-zone, a song to make love to. ‘Never Been’ is a love-letter (to Jesus) although you can hear it as infatuation surrendering to desire, the title track is a warning to, whoever you are, stay away from Mary’s life if you are going to bring drama to her life. The Blige’s fifth studio album demonstrates that the lady from the New York’s Yonkers housing project knows here mind and cares not if you can’t handle it.

There is even a poem, ‘Forever No More’, delivered straight-up… The message behind ‘No More Drama’, according to Ms Blige, is entertainment “But I’d like them to hear what I’m saying, too. But if it doesn’t grab you right away, cool. Just dance to it. Just feel it until you are ready to hear what I have to say… and then, what ever happens will happen.”

7.9/10