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In February, when I talked with her on my show, she spoke of a spiritual transformation she'd undergone, gradually trading the high life for faith.
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She tried to find it through drugs, alcohol, and spending by the late nineties, she'd become the gold-chain standard of the hyper-bling look known as "ghetto fabulous." What eluded her until recently was happiness. Her honest lyrics and raw, raspy style, infusing hip-hop beats with soul-stirring emotion, have earned her platinum records and rare longevity in the music business.
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In the 18 years since, Mary-who was quickly taken under the wing of then unknown Puff Daddy-has served up seven albums, including the chart topper, The Breakthrough. " Her stepdad passed that recording to Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell, who was so impressed that he signed her as his label's youngest female artist: Mary J. In a New York mall in 1988, a 17-year-old girl from a Yonkers housing project stepped into a karaoke booth and belted out her rendition of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture. The diva who's gone from the baddest of bad girls to the best of good examples ("I know transformation when I see it," says Oprah) talks about drugs, alcohol, toxic friends, the lyrics she'd like to change, the shock that turned her around, PMS (stand back, people!), and why today she's "exactly where a 35-year-old woman should be."