INDUSTRY NEWS: MARY J. BLIGE RETURNS WITH NEW MUSIC

Mary J. Blige, the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" reinvents herself once again. Recently, Hot 97's DJ Funkmaster Flex just played a new Mary record entitled "I'm The One," and the song is definitely nothin' from Mary that I have heard before. The record is produced by Darkchild and has a real Harlem/New-York feel to it. The record is up-tempo, hard-hitting, and very danceable.

The record is definitely like a "Just Fine," except the track is slick and more so in the direction of 2080, not 1980 (for those who hate "Just Fine," it was definitely an ode to something Chaka Khan would have done back in her solo hey day). With the new song's updated sound comes newer motifs like the slight use of the the snare originating from Lil' Wayne's "A Milli," and auto-tune. Even though most artists use auto-tune because they cannot sing, Mary only uses auto tune here to add some melodic elements to the song during the hook. I definitely do not knock Mary for using auto-tune considering the nature of the song and the intent for her usage. This song is definitely a dance number, which makes her use of auto-tune acceptable, and to really balance out the beat, the vocals needed an extra "je ne sais quoi" that could only be delivered through auto-tune. There verses and a majority of the hook are not altered, so it can be said Mary really did not use it all.

As far as the artistic direction of this album goes, I am shocked that she came out with this type of record. I honestly thought Mary was gonna do a very soulful album with an old school vibe with some updated motifs where she'd dig even deeper for a vintage sound in comparison to her last album (Solange's T.O.N.Y. meets Maxwell's "Pretty Wings). However, if this track is any inclination to what this new album holds in store Mary is really coming with some new ish. According to Wikipedia, the new album is entitled "Technical Difficulty," with a different song listed as the lead single with production from Eric Hudson. But there is surely some uncertainty if this is true. But the new album is due out in the Fall of this year, supposedly November which leads me to believe that this song is just a teaser.

Here is a link to the song: http://www.zshare.net/audio/60978790713494cc/

* link and news feed courtesy of Toyas-World (www.toyas-world.net)