[1] Jimmy Jam commented on the creation process: "I'm a big soap opera fan, and I always wanted to do something using The Young and the Restless theme.

"[4] Perry Botkin Jr., one of the song's original composers, who had never heard of Blige prior to this was delighted to get a writing credit, saying: "I woke up one morning and I'm on the cutting edge of R&B.

As she sang, the piano section from English pop rock band Tears For Fears's 1985 hit single "Head Over Heels" was incorporated into the track.

"[7] Frequently used in singing competition televisions shows, Joshua Ledet performed "No More Drama" during the eleventh season of American Idol.

Alexis Petridis from The Guardian called it "a visceral, cathartic howl of a song, wrapped up in a superb soap-opera-theme-sampling Jam & Lewis production.

"[9] Vibe's Lela Olds wrote: "As fans of her music, we’ve seen her go through so much through the years, but it was so inspirational for her to declare she’s done with the drama in her life through this song.

Over an epic Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis interpolation of The Young & The Restless theme, Mary lets loose like never before, tearfully wailing of moving beyond the painful struggles of her early life—and setting the stage for the uplifting, happy-to-be-me music to come.

"[10] Nerisha Penrose from Billboard wrote: "On the dramatic cut, Mary has grown weary of her significant other and his drama and is ready to hit the refresh button on her life, this time leaving all the stress of her past relationship behind.

"[11] Her colleague Chuck Taylor wrote in his 2001 review of the song: "Jimmy Jam and Terr Lewis don't rest on the sample, though.

The pair's production adds lush instrumentation and harmonies to the mix, and the Timbaland-style electronic blips and burps bring in the 21st-century factor [...] Blige demonstrates all the strength and passion one would expect from her; by the three-minute mark, she has long dropped the script, soaring over the song's form with her own improvised licks.

[16] It also earned Blige a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video, but lost to India Arie's "Little Things" (2002).

[3] They contain images of a depressed man that is struggling to overcome drugs (played by actor David Venafro), a gang member who lost a friend in a shooting and a woman who is verbally and physically abused by her partner.

While the theme of the video is dramatic, it ends on an encouraging note as the gang member decides to end the cycle of killing by leaving his gang; the drug addict is seen to be headed for a rehab clinic to combat his addiction and the woman finding the strength to leave her abusive lover behind and start a new life.