Family Affair

The title never appears in the lyric - you know it by the opening chorus lines: Let's get it crunk, we gon' have fun Up on up in this dancerie That and the line, "Mary J. is in the spot tonight." Mary J. Blige's mentor, Sean Combs, referred to his crew as "The Family," and using such a benign title helped earn the song airplay on adult-skewing radio stations that might balk at a song about getting crunk on the dance floor. That title is also a proven winner from a previous generation: Sly & the Family Stone had a #1 hit in 1971 with their "Family Affair."

Dr. Dre produced this track. In the '90s, he was known as the architect of G-Funk, but in 2001, he proved he could do dance music as well. That year, he also worked on "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve. Dre worked remotely with Blige because at the time he was busy filming the movie Training Day.

Mary J. Blige had already landed three #1 hits on the R&B chart, but "Family Affair" was her first #1 on the Hot 100 (the song also topped the R&B chart, giving Blige her fourth #1 on that tally). It went to the top on November 3, 2001 and stayed for six weeks. According to Billboard, Blige didn't usually look at the charts, but when the song remained at the summit for a sixth week she checked the tally for the first time and said, "Whoa, this is really real!"