Mary J. Blige

At first it seems a bit strange: There's only one MC on Mary J. Blige's new album, Mary. On
her first and third studio albums -- the genre-creating What's the 411? and the merely stellar
Share My World -- she tapped a host of rhymers: Busta Rhymes, Grand Puba, Lil' Kim, Nas.
On her second album, the emotional autobiography My Life, there was a Keith Murray
cameo and a slew of Puffy-produced interpolations. This latest record is her mos... More >

Rather than hating playas, she's bored with them. Between Aretha and Lauryn and the sister who knocked on the door and just by being sincere convinced Mary she'd had Mary's man's baby, all that she can say is that she's ready to love someone serious and walk away from anyone who isn't. Unless you count Bennie and the Jets, her pop allies don't do all that much for her song sense, which is why her live album is still where to begin. But two more like this and she'll be ready for another. A girl who can come out of a Diane Warren song with no symptoms of soul death has performed a miracle that defied Al Green. (Grade: A-)