No More Drama

No More Drama
Studio album by Mary J. Blige
Released August 28, 2001
Recorded 2000–01
Genre
Length 71:50
Label MCA
Producer
Mary J. Blige chronology

Mary
(1999)		 No More Drama
(2001)		 Love & Life
(2003)
Alternative covers
2002 Re-Release
Singles from No More Drama
  1. "Family Affair"
    Released: June 12, 2001
  2. "Dance for Me"
    Released: August 7, 2001
  3. "No More Drama"
    Released: September 11, 2001
  4. "Rainy Dayz"
    Released: November 5, 2001

No More Drama is the fifth studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. The album was released on August 28, 2001 by MCA Records in North America. The album was certified 3x Platinum. According to Billboard magazine, No More Drama has sold over 3,200,000 in the United States alone to date. Critically acclaimed, the album has received positive to favorable reviews from most music critics, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200, and opening at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 324,000 copies in its first week.[1] It has spawned four singles that has attained Billboard chart success. The album received two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for "Family Affair") at the 44th Grammy Awards. Blige would win her first in the latter category for the track "He Think I Don't Know" the following year.

Conception

The inspiration for No More Drama came largely from Blige's own confused and hectic life. In a later interview she confessed to living a life of alcohol and drug abuse at the time, and as a result getting involved in a series of abusive relationships. The album was an attempt to break free from this vicious circle, which was a result of a deprived childhood.[2]

Stylistically, the album diverged from Blige's typically blues-soaked R&B into the hip-hop beats and influences that had made her debut, What's the 411?, a hit. This is especially evident in the first single, "Family Affair". Rapper Eve appears on the track "Where I've Been" as well, and urban influences can be heard throughout the album.

Early in its development, the album carried the full title Mary Jane - No More Drama and was to be a sequel to 1999's Mary. Blige's then-manager hinted that the album would be the second in a trilogy and be followed by an album titled Mary Jane Blige.[3] During this time, the first single was supposed to be a song called "Rock Steady" featuring a rap from Jay-Z and Lenny Kravitz on guitar. The song was leaked to mixtapes months before the album was scheduled to be released and subsequently did not make the final cut on the album.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (77/100)[5]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [6]
The A.V. Club (favorable)[7]
Robert Christgau [8]
Entertainment Weekly A[9]
Los Angeles Times [10]
NME (7/10)[11]
Rolling Stone [12]
USA Today [13]
Vibe [14]
The Village Voice (favorable)[15]

The album holds a Metacritic score of 77 out of 100 based on "generally favorable reviews".[5] Robert Marriott of Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of five, and called it "less volatile and less emotionally jagged than Blige's earlier work". He highlighted "Family Affair", "Steal Away" and the title track as the best songs on the album.[12] At Allmusic, Liana Jonas gave it four stars out of five, saying Blige had "come a long way" since her breakthrough album What's the 411? from 1992, and that she had "blossomed into an all-out R&B diva". She praised Blige's versatile voice, and her ability to write lyrics that people could relate to.[6]

The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard album chart, and stayed in the top hundred of that chart for several months. "Family Affair" peaked at #1 for six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the early autumn of 2001.[16]

While the third single "No More Drama" climbed the charts, Blige earned two Grammy nominations.Family Affair was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and the album No More Drama was nominated for Best R&B Album, but Blige failed to win either award. In 2002, Mary was nominated once again for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "He Think I Don't Know" and won.

Rhapsody (online music service) ranked the album #4 on its "Best R&B Albums of the Decade" list.[17]

In Germany, the album was her most successful one in her career in this country, reaching #13 and staying in the German Albums Chart for 35 weeks [18] Estimated worldwide sales for the album are at 6,500,000.[19] "No More Drama" has sold 2,225,000 copies in Europe alone and sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone.

Track listing

Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Love"  Mary J. Blige, Kwame Holland, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, Bruce Miller 2:46
2. "Family Affair"  Mary J. Blige, Mike Elizondo, Camara Kambon, Bruce Miller, Andre Young 4:03
3. "Steal Away" (featuring Pharrell and No Malice)Blige, Pharrell Williams, Marshane Winfield, Gene Thornton, Jr. 4:27
4. "Crazy Games"  Mary J. Blige, Kenny Dickerson 3:23
5. "PMS"  Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Terri Robinson, Chucky Thompson, Tara Tillman 5:33
6. "No More Drama"  Perry Botkin, Jr., Barry de Vorzon, James Harris, Terry Lewis 5:26
7. "Keep It Moving"  Mary J. Blige, Bruce Miller 4:15
8. "Destiny"  Mary J. Blige, Benny Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus, Brian Reeves 4:14
9. "Where I've Been" (featuring Eve)Mary J. Blige, Eve 5:11
10. "Beautiful Day"  Bruce Miller 3:33
11. "Dance for Me"  Mary J. Blige, Damon Blackman, Bruce Wallenstein, Ahkim Miller, Gordon Sumner 4:47
12. "Flying Away"  Mary J. Blige, Brenda Russell 5:00
13. "Never Been"  Henri Charlemagne, Jerry Cohen, Missy Elliott, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead 4:03
14. "2U"  Mary J. Blige 4:45
15. "In The Meantime"  Mary J. Blige, Terri Robinson 4:14
16. "Forever No More" (Poem)Mary J. Blige 1:41
17. "Testimony"  Mary J. Blige, Michelle Bell, Kenny Dickerson 5:00
18. "Girl From Yesterday" (Japanese bonus track)Mary J. Blige 4:37

2002 re-release

  1. "Love"
  2. "Family Affair"
  3. "Steal Away" (featuring Pharrell Williams & No Malice)
  4. "He Think I Don't Know"
  5. "PMS"
  6. "No More Drama"
  7. "Rainy Dayz" (featuring Ja Rule)
  8. "Where I've Been" (featuring Eve)
  9. "Beautiful Day"
  10. "Dance For Me" (featuring Common)
  11. "No More Drama (Bad Boy Remix)" (featuring Diddy)
  12. "Flying Away"
  13. "Never Been"
  14. "2U"
  15. "In The Meantime"
  16. "Forever No More"
  17. "Testimony"
Int'l bonus track
18. "Dance For Me (featuring Common)" (Plutonium Mix)
Japanese bonus tracks
18. "Girl From Yesterday"
19. "Checkin' For Me"

Charts

Chart (2001–2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[20] 36
Austrian Albums Chart[20] 17
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[20] 32
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[20] 24
Canadian Albums Chart[21] 5
Danish Albums Chart[20] 10
Dutch Albums Chart[20] 9
French Albums Chart[20] 8
German Albums Chart[18] 13
New Zealand Albums Chart[20] 31
Swedish Albums Chart[20] 2
Swiss Albums Chart[20] 7
UK Albums Chart 4
U.S. Billboard 200 2
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1
Single[22] R&B US UK DE US Dance
"Family Affair" (2001) 1 1 8 10 –
"No More Drama" (2001) 16 15 9 – –
"Dance for Me" (2001)[23] – – 13 – –
"Rainy Dayz" (2002) 8 12 17 – –
"He Think I Don't Know" (2002)[24] – – – – 15

References

  1. ↑ HITS Daily Double: Previous Album Sales Chart
  2. ↑ Brown, Helen (2008-07-02). "Mary J Blige: Proud to shout it out without selling out on 'Growing Pains'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  3. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (2001-04-03). "Mary J. Blige Wants 'No More Drama' On Fifth LP". MTV.com. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  4. ↑ "Blige May Cut Leaked Jay-Z/Kravitz Track From Album". MTV News.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Critic Reviews for No More Drama". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jonas, Liana. "No More Drama". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  7. ↑ The A.V. Club review
  8. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  9. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  10. ↑ Los Angeles Times review
  11. ↑ NME review
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Marriott, Robert (2001-08-20). "No More Drama". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  13. ↑ USA Today review
  14. ↑ Vibe review
  15. ↑ The Village Voice review
  16. ↑ "Artist Chart History - Mary J. Blige". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  17. ↑ "Best R&B Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de
  19. ↑ "Mary J. Blige". Fan of Music. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 20.8 20.9 "australian-charts.com - Mary J Blige - No More Drama". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ "Mary J. Blige". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  23. ↑ UK only release
  24. ↑ "He Think I Don't Know" released to promote remix album Dance for Me, and only to urban and dance radio.

External links