Mary J Blige My Life II 2011

Almost 17 years after the original My Life, Mary J Blige returns with a sequel. By doing so she's instantly inviting comparisons with what is arguably her greatest work, and while it doesn't quite have the bruised efficiency of that record, you can see why she decided to put the two together. Part two is a surprisingly robust return to form, particularly given the flabbiness of her last two albums. With guest turns from Nas, Busta Rhymes, Drake, Rick Ross and Beyoncé, it feels elegant, refined and, for the most, part up-to-date. But it's also far too long, and it's a shame that, while slow jams have provided many of the year's strongest R&B tracks, the ballads feel weighed down with listlessness and sentimentality.



1. 1 Intro

2. 2 Feel Inside

3. 3 Midnight Drive

4. 4 Next Level

5. 5 Ain't Nobody

6. 6 25/8

7. 7 Don't Mind

8. 8 No Condition

9. 9 Mr Wrong

10. 10 Why

11. 11 Love a Woman

12. 12 Empty Prayers

13. 13 Need Someone

14. 14 The Living Proof

15. 15 You Want This

16. 16 This Love Is for You

17. 17 One Life

18. 18 Someone to Love Me (Naked)