Bernadette McNulty reviews the queen of hip hop soul Mary J Blige at the O2 Arena Mary J Blige is a phenomenon. The 37-year-old American has long been the queen of hip-hop soul, but she has musically outlived most of her contemporaries, from Lauryn Hill to TLC, and while female soul singers seem to grow on trees these days, none have come close to stealing her crown.
She has also become a poster girl for sobriety and creative redemption: early in her career Blige turned to drugs and drink to cope with emotional problems and damaging relationships. Since finding love and marrying she has overcome her addictions but, contrary to the clichés of the tortured genius struggling to make great art in contentment, Blige has got better - her last few records have been some of her finest. The reason for this becomes quickly evident. Blige is not so much a performer as a modern equivalent of a medieval mystery play. While her life may be peachy now, she is still set on fire by the depth of her emotions: a rollercoaster of love, pain, anger, regret, fortitude and joy. In the middle of short UK tour, she explodes on stage looking like a monochrome negative of Diana Rigg's catwoman: skin-tight white catsuit, blonde bob and glistening skin. Flames shoot up from either side of her. She doesn't pause for breath: she just roars into action and for two hours she doesn't stop. | 
