Or is it “more weak”?
As a fan, it can be difficult to admit when your favorite artist is dropping the ball. But, I love myself more than I love Mary J. Blige so I’ll come right out and say it: These new Mary joints are just ok. Not wack like they are just bad songs for any artist, but when we look at the many ways in which Mary has grown over the years, these tracks feel regressive or, at the most, basic. Let’s break them down one-by-one.
“The One”: The first official single from Stronger is the best of the worst so far, mainly because we’re used to it. Nearly every element of this song is old hat, right down to Rodney Jerkins doing the same thing he did with “Enough Cryin’” two albums ago. The addition of Drake brings the track slightly into the present but, as with many songs featuring Drake, it comes off as more calculated than truly inspired. Club banger? Yes. But certainly not the proper jump-off, and the fact that it peaked at NUMBER THIRTY-TWO on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts is a testament to that.
“Stronger”: Never let it be said that Mary cannot ingratiate herself to the Pop world. I don’t bemoan her penchant for “sending a message” but rarely does it come across as anything other than excessively trite. “Stronger”, to some, could be seen as a sweeping, epic, Grammy-worthy track that highlights Mary’s powerful chops and emotion. To me, it’s screeching and corny. I hate this song.
“Said and Done”: I feel slightly bad for coming down on this song since there isn’t anything particularly wrong with it, but it could stand to be a bit stronger, especially since it may end up being the next official single. Let us be clear, as an album track or b-side, it does the trick, but as a single? Mary’s going to have to come harder. Let’s place our bets on who will guest on the remix–Busta Rhymes or Lil’ Wayne?
“Skycap”: This song has loads of potential until Timbaland starts singing. Considering these two have co-existed since the days of Jodeci you’d expect something a bit more inspired, right? I definitely think Tim went the correct route here, as opposed to something bombastic and chaotic, but the chorus kills the record for me.
I’ve been in love with this women since I was but a wee 11-year-old. Now I’m almost 30, and my patience with music is steadily decreasing. My fear is that Mary has done everything there is to be done, musically, and now she can simply deliver a contractually-obligated album every other 4th quarter to strong sales just because. But considering the way she titles her albums, each one must be bigger and better than the last, unless she plans on naming her next release Good Enough.
Tags: mary j. blige, rodney jerkins, ryan leslie, timbaland
That is indeed an underachieving usage of a great Timbo beat.
I’m less bothered by Timothy’s singing than I am by the clumsy metaphor in the chorus. There has to be a less awkward load-bearing entity that could be used to make the comparison gel.
I’d suggest one but I’m not a songwriter.
To sum it all up…”The One” flopped because no one wanted to hear Mary Blige using Auto-tune, “Stronger” was way too polished for Mary, “Said & Done” is getting No Airplay…The lyrics on this joint are weak & the song has no soul.
“SkyCap” lyrically is a HOT unique song w/a creative concept (w/no soul). The song is a combination of African&Pop. I personally feel like the song will be a massive hit…There are 3 other songs that leaked as well that you failed to mention…”Good Love” ft.T.I. (CLASSIC),”The Queen”…a song for the Beyonce’s & Rihana’s, & “Feel Good Love”…HOT! Check all of them out.