Da UK On-line Urban Magazine

R&B icon Mary J Blige releases her 13th studio album entitled 'The London Sessions' which features some of the UK's finest. The first track release off the album is called 'Whole Damn Year' which was co-written by Birmingham's Knox Brown, Mary J Blige and UK's Emile Sande.

It might have previously "been a bad five years" for Mary J. Blige, but the release of her new album, The London Sessions, is proving that won't be the case this year following her top ten hit with Disclousure and her soundtrack for the movie 'Think like a Man Too'.

In February 2014, amid the production for the soundtrack album, Blige recorded vocals for a remix version of "F for You", a song by UK prroducers Disclosure. The remix, while retaining most of the original track from their album Settle, was re-recorded for release as a single and became a top ten hit. Inspired by its response, Mary J Blige initially hoped to record an EP with the duo, but in July 2014, it was announced she would move to London to experiment with a new sound. Mary J Blige spent a month in London recording her album with a host of young British acts, including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé, Knox Brown and Sam Smith. The results were ten new songs, co-written and recorded by the singer in one month in postcodes W6, NW8 and NW5 London.

In addition to releasing her latest album, the veteran songstress dropped an emotional visual to her song, "Whole Damn Year." The track, which has Mary speaking on repairing herself after a horrible breakup, couldn't have received a better visual. Shot in black and white, the video follows a few different scenarios of people who have been hurt and their process of being repaired.

The album features tracks and features by BIG producers in the UK and USA including Rodney Jerkins, Sam Smith, Disclourse and Naughty Boy. It is available for download from iTunes.

This time last year Mary J Blige released her Christmas album 'Mary Christmas'. It did well in the USA but not in the UK . . . It could be worth a listen while stuffing the turkey this year!