TheGrio's 100: Mary J. Blige, no more drama, just the music

Can it be? Has it really been almost 18 years since What's the 411? was released and the diamond in the rough known as Mary Jane Blige stormed the charts, never let go and never looked back? Through nine studio albums and personal demons -- the drama that comes with battling alcoholism, drugs, depression and dysfunctional relationships -- she's produced a body of work that's as impressive in its own right as it is revealing of the private trials that made that music, that voice, possible. My Life. Share My World. No More Drama. The Breakthrough. She's won nine Grammy awards and numerous other honors for an increasingly impressive and well-received body of work. In recent years she's branched out into convincing roles in movies and on television; landed numerous lucrative product endorsement deals and even launched her own label, "Matriarch Records":http://www.mjblige.com/forum/default.aspx?tid=274214&cid=528. WATCH MARY J BLIGE PERFORM SONGS FROM HER ALBUM "GROWING PAINS" ON THE TODAY SHOW IN 2008

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But with an experiential authority similar to Aretha Franklin, and a vocal power that shadowed that of Whitney Houston and anticipated that of Jennifer Hudson, Mary stands singular. She's distinguished by her voice, her way to a song's emotional truth, the way she's gotten stronger with each year, surviving a troubled early life and troubles in her adult life to become one of the pre-eminent singers of her generation, and the embodiment of the union of hip-hop and soul -- grit and elegance, joy and pain. And, as she continues her longstanding practice of touring in even-numbered years, 2010 should be a banner year to see Mary J. on the road, no more drama, stronger without tears. WATCH BLIGE TALK ABOUT HER CENTER FOR WOMEN

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