Mary J Blige: My Life II … The Journey Continues – review

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.