Mary J. Blige

Reviving the classics of her childhood ("Sweet Thing," "I'm Going Down") while making new ones of her own (the Babyface-penned "Not Goin' Cry"), Mary J. Blige is proof that while soul music changes, the emotions at its heart remain the same.

At home with both Ja Rule (on "Rainy Dayz") and Elton John ("Deep Inside"), Mary J. Blige has made duets a hallmark of her career. But even as her stardom flourishes, she's never lost touch with the inner Mary that drives proclamations such as "My Life" and "No More Drama."

Mary J. Blige makes art with her emotions right at the surface. Finding truth both in new songs ("Love @ First Sight," a reunion with Method Man) and old (Cheryl Lynn's dancefloor-crowding "Got to Be Real), she continues to move the audience more than a decade after her first appearance. Long live the queen.

Once the renegade street queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige has become music-biz überroyalty without significantly changing her rough-and-ready vocal style. Keeping it real as a new generation's equivalent of Aretha Franklin, her will and strength are projected through that singular voice. An artist whose connection with her listeners seems as personal as that between two friends sitting together at a table, she's indispensable for millions of R&B fans.