I couldn’t believe it when I read the stat, but it’s been ten years since Mary J. Blige took “Family Affair” to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

This week in 2001, the Dr. Dre-produced first single from No More Drama began a six-week run at #1. “Family Affair” marked Blige’s first and only visit to the penthouse, and remains the biggest hit of her career. The song also introduced ‘hateration’ and ‘dancery’ into the popular lexicon, as heard via the lyric, “We don’t need no hateration in this dancery.”

Such context is illustrative because encountering an unfamiliar word isn’t the same as knowing how to use it properly. Sort of like seeing an unusual wig and assuming it will look smashing atop your melon, Miss Mary.

Ok, that analogy doesn’t really hold, but that black-and-white blunt cut is absolutely horrendous. Then and now. See? Hateration in full effect. But a decade later, I still advise you turn that Dre track way up high:

Purchase Mary J. Blige – “Family Affair” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.