Recently, Mary J. Blige released her 15th album, 

. It is representative of her efforts to remain a leading voice in the R&B genre. She is most well known from the 90’s and while her current music is slightly less popular, it represents that her talent is here to stay. With 

, Mary J. Blige showcases the longevity of both her vocal ability as well as her overall charm as an artist. The album is a mix of chill R&B that crosses into other similar genres with upbeat vibes and empowering messages.

The album begins with “Breathing (feat. Fabolous),” an instant hit reminiscent of her old music that bridged the genres of R&B and hip-hop. The song is an excellent mix of powerful vocals from Mary J. Blige and a talented flow from Fabolous. Their voices complement each other as they both add a unique aspect to the rhythmic beat. “Breathing” is one of the best new songs and it brings a remarkably strong start to the album. Another powerful song is “Don’t Fuck Up.” It is an uplifting track with a unique and funky beat that is perfect for Mary J. Blige’s strong and seamless vocals. The song is exemplary of her talent through the background vocals that complement the song perfectly. Mary J. Blige clearly expresses her superiority in the R&B genre. She specifically sings about her musical talent and personal abilities on “Superpowers.” Throughout the track, she affirms herself and her worth in a relationship and as an artist. The song is a slower, sultry track that uses repetition to enhance the mood.

Another feature, “Need You More (feat. Jadakiss)" keeps up the same vibes as the intro track. The song is dynamic as Mary J. Blige uses different vocal styles to create a cute love song that embodies chill R&B. Jadakiss’s part disrupts the vibe slightly as he comes in with rough and scratchy vocals. She continues this theme of catchy love with “Nobody But You” and “Don’t Fuck Up.” On “Nobody But You,” Mary J Blige showcases her strong vocal ability and proves she has just as much talent as she did as a rising star. The song’s beat is much smoother and places the song almost in the genre of neo-soul. “Don’t Fuck Up” also shares a message of self-love and love in relationships.

Gratitude expresses an overall theme of empowerment. Through multiple songs, Mary J. Blige urges her fans to believe in themselves and remember their self-worth. “Beautiful People” is a perfect example as it embodies joy and resilience. The song is a typical R&B hit with a funky electric beat and a really good bridge. Another uplifting track is “You Ain’t The Only One.” This song stands out with a slower tempo as Mary J. Blige plays around with a vibe similar to jazz. “You Ain’t The Only One” remains one of the most inspiring songs as she encourages the audience to never give up as they aren't alone in their struggles.

 is slightly less powerful as the songs get slower and become less unique. While Mary J. Blige never produces a dissonant note, some of the songs are far less impactful. The track “Never Give Up On Me” is fairly rhythmic with calm vibes. The song falls short though as it feels dull and does not stand out compared to the rest of the album. Likewise, “Here I Am” expresses Mary J. Blige’s typical singing strategy but brings nothing special. She breaks out of this unmemorable rut with the song “Can’t Wait For You.” This song continues with a slower paced beat and chill vibe but it showcases Mary J. Blige’s ability to make a track like this super memorable. “Can’t Wait For You” matches the genre of contemporary R&B with uptempo but relaxed beats.

 concludes with two feature tracks. However, the latter two do not reach the same heights. “God’s Child” begins with an intense rap verse by Fat Joe that feels quite harsh compared to the previous chill R&B sound. The song overall has darker tones and Mary J. Blige alters her vocals and flow to match this. “I Got Plans” has a slightly better combination of artists as A$AP Ferg complements Mary J. Blige’s vocals better. The song gives vibes similar to hip-hop and R&B collabs of the 90s. This track is a typical hit that matches her usual style, but still stands out as a powerful and playful ending to the album. 

 closes out extremely strong with a song reminding audiences of Mary J. Blige’s talent as an R&B vocalist and songstress.

Mary J. Blige uses her most recent album, 

, to prove she has not lost any musical abilities from her youth. She showcases her talent in the R&B genre while crossing into various genres like jazz and neo soul through different types of singing methods and tempos. The album starts out powerful with tracks like “Breathing” and “Don’t Fuck Up.” Not every song hits as hard though, as some of the beats feel stale and Mary J. Blige’s vocals sounded partially strained. “Never Give Up On Me,” “Here I Am,” and “God’s Child” all felt too ordinary to stand out. Still, 

 as a whole is another successful album by Mary J. Blige that solidifies her place as an R&B queen. While the album isn’t full of complete hits, it includes a variety of tracks that complement her voice well and showcase long lasting talent. Throughout every song on 

, Mary J. Blige expresses messages of empowerment, resilience, and self-determination to her audiences.

Gratitude marks another success as Mary J. Blige seamlessly combines classic and contemporary R&B music

 follows a recent trend of artists releasing projects in numbered sections. Megan Thee Stallion is riding the popularity wave from her self-titled album, 

 serving as both a deluxe edition and a new album. 

 are the first releases on Megan Thee Stallion’s recently formed independent label, Hot Girl Productions, which allows Megan Thee Stallion to own her masters. This is a special achievement as claiming ownership of your masters is difficult for any artist. 

 includes twelve new brand songs and one recently released single. The album is a mix of hype and chill rap that showcases Megan Thee Stallion’s strength as a rising competitor in the rap game.

 begins with “Bigger In Texas,” where Megan Thee Stallion showcases her confidence and unapologetic nature. “Bigger In Texas” follows Megan Thee Stallion’s typical formula: a hype track where she stunts on her haters and critics. The song has a funky beat that complements Megan Thee Stallion’s consistent flow. Megan Thee Stallion raps about her natural and effortless rap ability. She references her come-up in the music industry, specifically mentioning her masters. Megan Thee Stallion continues to prove her talent with “Bourbon.” With an extremely uptempo beat, Megan Thee Stallion excels on this track with a faster flow. Similarly to other songs, Megan Thee Stallion uses “Bourbon” to reassert her dominance in the music industry. She continuously brags about her success, specifically mentioning her men and stylistic aesthetic. “Number One Rule” has darker undertones with a slightly slower beat. The song is pretty catchy and repetitive. Megan Thee Stallion urges her fans to never give up their agency and control. The attitude she presents in “Number One Rule” is aligned with Megan Thee Stallion’s known personality as a confident and independent female artist who does not need any man to enhance her success.

 was “Roc Steady (feat. Flo Milli).” Megan Thee Stallion teased the song online and had fans speculating. Both artists emerged at similar times but have not worked together yet. Their collaboration proves that the two rappers complement each other extremely well with their similar flow and style. “Roc Steady” is a short track that leaves you wanting more as both Flo Milli and Megan Thee Stallion come in for two brief verses each. Flo Milli brings an added level of fun to the track as she and Megan Thee Stallion go back and forth during the song’s chorus. The beat of “Roc Steady” is sampled from the song, “Goodies” by Ciara and Petey Pablo, an R&B dance song from the early 2000’s. Another one of the best and most hype songs is “Right Now.” This song includes a hardcore beat with a lot of bass. Megan Thee Stallion keeps the track upbeat with her intense and forceful rhymes. She comes out hard as she unapologetically declares that no one else in the rap industry is working like her. She is claiming her spot as a successful rapper and making it known that no one can get in her way. “Right Now” is one of the strongest songs on the album as Megan Thee Stallion uses the track to show up and stand out.

Megan Thee Stallion has always been open about the fluidity of her sexual orientation. The sultry track, “Best Friend,” stands out with its slower tempo and Megan Thee Stallion’s seductive voice. The song brings audiences deeper into Megan Thee Stallion's sexual desires as she speaks openly about her attraction to women. Megan Thee Stallion uses “Best Friend” to describe her interests for both women and men. While the song focuses on a woman-loving-woman dynamic, it still touches on the ways Megan Thee Stallion uses men to fulfill her sexual needs. This track does break rap norms through Megan Thee Stallion’s overt depiction of female sexual desire for each other. However, Megan Thee Stallion still positions her sexual interactions with other women through the context of men and male sexuality. And by continuing to place the focus on the man, Megan Thee Stallion continues to uphold traditional and mainstream notions about gender and sexuality.

Going into the second half of the album, Megan Thee Stallion continues with two collaboration tracks of different genres. The first is a remix of the highly popular, “Mamushi” with K-Pop girl group, TWICE. The original “Mamushi” was popularized as it combined Megan Thee Stallion’s flawless rap abilities with her love for Japanese culture and featured a well known Japanese rapper. The remix falls short as the new feature does not complement the track as well. It does still shine because of how Megan Thee Stallion switches up her own verse. The next, “TYG (feat. Spiritbox),” came through as a weaker track as it felt disconnected from the album. The genre of “TYG” leans more towards rock, similar to her previous song, “Cobra.” Megan Thee Stallion continues to play with genres. The song “Like A Freak” is a sample of the popular early 2000’s club hit, “Like A G6.” The electronic beat is recognizable to audiences and sets up this song to be a hit. “Like A Freak” is a super upbeat, almost hyper pop song, that combines house music genre with rap. Ending 

 is “Neva Play (feat. RM of BTS),” a recently released single that dropped before the album. “Neva Play” has similar vibes to the previous song with its very catchy and trendy beat. Megan Thee Stallion’s collaboration with RM brings in something unique with RM’s much lower and slower paced rap. The song switches up slightly between the choruses and verses, making the track more dynamic.

“Motion” begins with a cute speaking intro by Megan Thee Stallion where she prefaces the song by claiming that there is no one with better looks or more money than her. It kicks off the track by showcasing Megan Thee Stallion's unconditional love and support for herself. Megan Thee Stallion continues the album with two songs that are purposefully placed together with contradictory titles. The next tracks are “Fell in Love” and “He Think I Love Him.” In the former, Megan raps about being unexpectedly committed to her new man. The song has a funky beat that adds to the song’s fun nature. After Megan Thee Stallion boasts about her new relationship, she follows with “He Think I Love Him. This song centers on Megan Thee Stallion’s powerful relationship to men. In this track, she focuses on her popularity and fame that allows her to play with men the way she does. This song has a more plain beat compared to others on the album and is one of the shortest. Megan Thee Stallion’s flow throughout the song keeps a consistent pattern which gives “He Think I Love Him” the feel of a freestyle track.

 is a successful and cohesive album that showcases Megan Thee Stallion’s vocal ability and rap talent in the music industry. The album starts off really strong with tracks that leave listeners feeling as confident and powerful as Megan Thee Stallion does. 

s second half doesn’t carry as much weight as the songs are more basic and feel rushed compared to the first half, especially when put in contrast with her original self-titled album. The songs do still highlight Megan Thee Stallion’s rap ability and success in the music industry as she consistently affirms in her music. There is a central theme of empowerment throughout as Megan Thee Stallion never doubts herself or her talent on any of the songs. While 

 may not stack up as high as its counterpart 

, it is still full of hyped up female rap that is perfect for any occasion. Megan Thee Stallion reminds herself and her fans to believe in themselves, to use the power they have, and to stand up to those who get in the way of their success. With 

, Megan Thee Stallion maintains her assertion that she is winning the rap game and does not plan to stop soon. It is clear that Megan Thee Stallion’s career will only continue to progress.

Serena Turner