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Fans of the diva will be used to hearing her struggles through her music (‘No More Drama’, ‘Be Without You’) but this album is different from most Mary J Blige records; it’s the work of a contented woman.

Right from start, the singer sets the upbeat tone with piano riddled ‘Work That’, an empowerment anthem telling young women to be themselves. The catching beat will get you nodding your head without you realising.

 With ‘Grown Woman’ singer enlists the help of rapper Ludacris who delivers a solid verse carrying on the upbeat start of the album. MJB’s reinvention is fresh and her newfound swagger is best illustrated with the lead single ‘Just Fine’, written by ‘The Dream’. It’s an infectious beat with a style reminiscent of Janet Jackson, which sees Mary celebrating her newfound happiness. Unfortunately old habits die-hard and the buoyancy of the first three tracks slowly fade away.  ‘Roses’ sees Mary get real about love (‘it ain’t all roses, flowers and poses, it ain’t all candy’), while the Ne-Yo written ‘Work In Progress (Growing Pain)’ is uplifting.  One of the highlights of the album is the funky and warm Neptunes-produced ‘Till The Morning’, which showcases the Mary’s soulful vocal range.  Accompanied by lavish strings and a great piano riff, the diva is at her best on the melodious ballad ‘Smoke’.

 The duet with Usher is disappointing. Unfortunately the Jazzie Pha produced ‘Shake Down’ lacks chemistry and tame. But the biggest miss on this album is the reflective ‘Come To Me (Peace)’, which sounds like it was stolen from Jessica Simpson.  

The RnB queen has successfully opened herself to more styles with sounding forced. At no point during this solid album does she seem out of her depth and that’s great testament to her as an artist. She may face fierce competition from Rihanna and Beyonce, but with ‘Growing Pains’ you can see why Mary J Blige is still the Queen of Hip-Hop and RnB.