After hearing the song “Family Affair” and absolutely loving it, I rushed straight out and bought the new Mary J Blige album. I’m quite into soul and RnB so I thought this album would live up to her great reputation. I got home and blasted track 2 out right away, actually I played this one song sooooo much that it was a couple of hours before I got round to listening to the rest of the album…

…what a disappointment it turned out to be!

Considering Mary has a great production team, including Ruff Ryders, Dr Dre and Missy Elliot, some of the songs are Goddam awful. Track 5, PMS, is in a word, terrible. Why anyone would want to write a song about periods I don’t know. I think it’s supposed to make women feel better about themselves or something; but quite frankly it makes me cringe and I’m sure any man listening to this album would feel like a bit of a tw*t when this song comes on. Hmmmmm. Poor show.

Track 11, Dance For Me, is quite good, the best on the album besides Family Affair. The poem included as Track 16 is a bit pointless in my opinion, in fact it’s b*llocks. I haven’t the faintest idea what she’s trying to say. The first verse goes:
“No more invisible speeches, deaf and blind child
With neglected pleasures being addicted to denial
Floating through time, gravitating towards a warm arm
With an appetite for the emptiness that promises no harm.”

What?? If anyone manages to figure out what this means exactly then please let me know!!!

I know this op is probably sounding really bitchy. But I used to really like her. I just think she’s turned into too much of a diva, and I honestly think she’s trying to be too much like Miss E. She even looks like her now.

Mary… please get back to being original. Belt out more tunes like Family Affair, something with a bit of funky rhythm and stop going on about pre-
menstrual syndrome. All us girls have to go through it but I’m damned sue I don’t need to hear a song all about it!!!