After going down, "Be With You" brings Mary's pining up to a more predictable plane. It's a solid R&B track that's undoubtedly of its time. This is accentuated by the preceding track's wildly popular and masterfully employed anachronism (cheers, Diddy). There's an omnipresent vulnerability to Mary's performance throughout My Life but on "Be With You" it's glossier. Maybe uncomfortably so. Even with the slick production and of-the-moment instrumental and rhythmic punches, Mary sounds more distant and tired than ever. Like, how much more can she push only to be pushed away? Does he even care? Her commitment to avoiding break-up is commendable at this point on the album. Reconciliation becomes more of a dream as My Life carries on. "Be With You" is like a case study in love-struck ignorance. She spends the entire song making a case against the relationship but is so deep in it she can't hear or see more that him, even this late in the game. And that's real.

Mary J. Blige: "Be With You"