No More Drama

No More Drama is Mary J. Blige's fifth studio album.

The album was released on August 28, 2001 on MCA Records. It was re-released on January 29, 2002.

Album Background
The album's inspiration came largely from Mary's own confused and hectic life.

In a later interview, she confessed to living a life of alcohol and drug abuse at the time & 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.

Stylistically, the album diverged from Mary's typically blues-soaked R&B into the hip-hop beats and influences that had made her debut album "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 her 1999 album "Mary."

Mary's then-manager hinted that the album would be the second in a trilogy and be followed by an album titled "Mary Jane Blige."

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.

Tracklisting

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

International Bonus Track
 * 1) Dance For Me (Plutonium Mix) (feat. Common)

Japanese Bonus Tracks
 * 1) Girl From Yesterday (4:37) (written by Mary J. Blige)
 * 2) Checkin' For Me

2002 Re-Release Tracklisting

 * 1) Love
 * 2) Family Affair
 * 3) Steal Away (feat. Pharrell Williams & No Malice)
 * He Think I Don't Know
 * PMS
 * No More Drama
 * Rainy Dayz (feat. Ja Rule)
 * Where I've Been (feat. Eve)
 * Beautiful Day
 * Dance For Me (feat. Common)
 * No More Drama (Bad Boy Remix) (feat. Diddy)
 * Flying Away
 * Never Been
 * 2U
 * In The Meantime
 * Forever No More (Poem)
 * Testimony

Commercial Performance
"No More Drama" debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, staying in the top hundred of the chart for several months.

In Germany, the album was her most successful one in her career in this country, reaching number thirteen and staying in the German Albums Chart for 35 weeks.

The estimated worldwide sales for the album are at 6,500,000.

The album has sold 2,225,000 copies in Europe alone and sold over three million copies in the United States alone.

Critical Reception
"No More Drama" holds a Metacritic score of 77 out of 100 based on "generally favorable reviews."

Robert Marriott of Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of five & 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.

At Allmusic, Liana Jonas gave it four stars out of five, saying Mary 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 Mary's versatile voice and her ability to write lyrics that people could relate to.

Accolades
While the third single "No More Drama" climbed the charts, Mary 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 she 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.

Online music service Rhapsody ranked the album number four on its "Best R&B Albums of the Decade" list.