271. Mary J. Blige, "What’s the 411?"

 


Don't you feel the magic, the mystery's in the air
Lets go down to lover's lane with the love we shared

Sadly, Mary, I don't.  This album - or at least all the songs until the very last one, which happens to be the title track - did not work for me at all.

Every night and day
I dream of another way
To tell you something good
I don't think that I'm understood

Yeah, honestly, Mary, I think you're right.  It's not your fault; I'm not understanding you.  It's a me problem.  I've written a lot about how R&B is just not my jam, and this is a lot of R&B.  What's more, it's not nearly as good as some of the other R&B that's lower on the list.  At least to me.

It's all gone
The love I thought we shared is gone away
Maybe it's better that we didn't stay together

Probably so.  Speaking of, the lyrics on this album - other than the rap parts, which we'll get to in a second - are, to put it mildly, unexciting.  They're a retread of every love song cliche you've ever heard, with no real interesting spin.

I'll flip the script and get harder than Jeopardy
I shot the sheriff and the muthafuckin deputy
Test me
Check it
I'm not Keith Sweat but bet that ass
That I can make it last

Oh here we go.  In the last song, with a guest appearance by Grand Puba, things finally start to take off.  Blige herself gets into it, rapping one of the verses.  Finally we have the rap/R&B crossover I was led to believe this album was about.  Too bad it's just this.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Maybe, but I'm the wrong person to ask.

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