‘Gratitude’ is the latest album by the self-styled queen of hip hop soul Mary J. Blige, and it sees the multi-time Grammy winner deliver rich storytelling and vocal expertise while retracing some of the musical motifs of her 1990s heyday. But, despite its talented and varied cast of collaborators, it sounds like she’s phoning it in a bit.
That said, Mary J. Blige phoning it in is still very, very good. Need You More melds chunky rhythms with horn stabs, steady strings and a squawky turn from Jadakiss on supplementary vocals. Really, the track is a re-up of Blige’s signature sound, so while it doesn’t necessarily represent an evolution, it might direct new listeners to her seminal albums, ‘My Life’ and ‘What's the 411?’.
Similarly, Breathing (featuring Fabolous) uses some groovy drums, bass and horns to deliver a memorable track of poise and complexity.
The musical concept on this is a tidy one — Fabolous raps for a full minute before Blige starts singing, which casts him as a bit of a hype man at a live show. This covers a little for the slightly low energy vocal from Blige, but not completely.
One of the problems in pop collaborations is that artists are often delivering their work from separate locations, having never set foot in the studio with their partner on the track. This can often mean that there is a disconnect in the themes; a singer might tell a tender story about a romance before a rapper suddenly bulldozes the track with bars laced with profanity and misogyny.
On ‘Gratitude’, this doesn't quite happen, but it’s still a bit of a bumpy ride as the album moves from one stage to the next. The most egregious example of this comes on the tracks that close out the album. Penultimate tune, God’s Child (with Fat Joe) is a bit of a prosperity gospel where Blige riffs on her faith and work ethic in propelling her to the top of pop music’s ladder.
That itself is a bit of a thematic balancing act, but it looks really dumb when placed next to the A$AP Ferg collaboration I Got Plans, which is a bawdy party track about hedonistic abandon. These two songs could both easily sit on the same album, but not so much right next to each other. Certainly not right at the end.
It suggests a lack of consideration in the album’s form. It’s a shame because there are loads of good ideas on ‘Gratitude’, they just come out as a bit of a lazy, if exciting, mess. It's like a drunken painter paying their bar tab by drawing on a napkin.
Mary J Blige Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu January 30 2025 - GREENSBORO North Carolina - First Horizon Coliseum At Greensboro Complex (USA)
Fri January 31 2025 - RALEIGH North Carolina - Lenovo Center (USA)
Mon February 03 2025 - ATLANTA Georgia - State Farm Arena (USA)
Thu February 06 2025 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - Spectrum Center (USA)
Sat February 08 2025 - TAMPA Florida - Amalie Arena (USA)
Tue February 11 2025 - HOLLYWOOD - Hard Rock Live - Hollywood (USA)
Fri February 14 2025 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Smoothie King Center (USA)
Tue February 18 2025 - HOUSTON Texas - Toyota Center - TX (USA)
Fri February 21 2025 - FORT WORTH Texas - Dickies Arena (USA)
Tue February 25 2025 - DENVER Colorado - Ball Arena (USA)
Sat March 01 2025 - LOS ANGELES California - Intuit Dome (USA)
Fri March 07 2025 - SAN FRANCISCO California - Chase Center (USA)
Sat March 08 2025 - SACRAMENTO California - Golden 1 Center (USA)
Wed March 12 2025 - ST LOUIS Missouri - Enterprise Center (USA)
Fri March 14 2025 - CHICAGO Illinois - United Center (USA)
Sun March 16 2025 - SAINT PAUL Minnesota - Xcel Energy Center (USA)
Wed March 19 2025 - DETROIT Michigan - Little Caesars Arena (USA)
Sat March 22 2025 - BUFFALO New York - Keybank Center (USA)
Mon March 24 2025 - TORONTO Ontario - Scotiabank Arena (Canada)
Wed March 26 2025 - WASHINGTON District Of Columbia - Capital One Arena (USA)
Fri March 28 2025 - ATLANTIC CITY New Jersey - Boardwalk Hall (USA)
Wed April 02 2025 - COLUMBUS Ohio - Nationwide Arena (USA)
Fri April 04 2025 - BALTIMORE Maryland - CFG Bank Arena (USA)
Sun April 06 2025 - NEWARK New Jersey - Prudential Center (USA)
Thu April 10 2025 - NEW YORK New York - Madison Square Garden (USA)
Fri April 11 2025 - NEW YORK - UBS Arena (USA)
Mon April 14 2025 - BOSTON Massachusetts - TD Garden (USA)
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