It was after she was signed to Uptown Records by their head of A&R, Sean "Puffy" Combs that Mary J Blige released her debut album ‘What’s the 411?’ in 1992, which sold over 2 million copies.The hip-hop quotient was represented by bass-driven rhythms, the soul stylings including her affecting voice. Guest appearances from rappers Grand Puba and Busta Rhymes were merely a bonus on this accomplished piece of work.Blige reinvented her career again and again by shedding the bad habits and bad influences that kept her down; by the time her fourth album, Mary, was released in 1999, she had matured into an expressive singer able to put the full power of her voice behind her music, while still reflecting a strong urban style. With her fifth album, No More Drama, it wasn't just Blige's style that shone through the structures set up for her by songwriters and producers, it was her own vision -- spiritual, emotional, personal, and full of wisdom, and reflected an artist who was comfortable with who she was and how far she had come.Blige maintained her impressive series of releases with 2001's No More Drama, featuring the US chart-topping single "Family Affair". The follow-up of ‘No More Drama’, ‘Love & Life’, released in September 2003, provided the singer with her second US chart-topping album.
