Mary J. Blige continues to shine, and she's throwing it in our faces "like yeah" with the latest single from her 13th album Strength of a Woman. On "Glow Up" she brings Quavo, DJ Khaled and Missy Elliott along for the ride, with plenty of bass and percussion to put the track firmly in the trap category. It has all the elements of a late summer hit with a popular colloquialism for its title, features from three heavy hitters in the contemporary music game and a sentiment we can all support, but it sadly misses the mark.
Khaled kicks off the track with his usual yelling before Missy smoothly slides through to proclaim, "Chicks like me don't stay down, never, ever." Once we get deeper into the track Mary J. reminds us why she's the queen, but she's not above being petty. "I'ma glow up / Lord have faith, like yeah / Have some fun / Throw it in your face, like yeah," on the chorus. Khaled and Quavo throw in some random ad libs throughout before the Migos rapper contributes an Auto-Tuned verse that makes absolutely no sense in the context of the song.
On paper, this collaboration might have worked, but in reality not so much. The potential was there, but the song tries too hard to be hot and now when she doesn't have to. She is the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul after all, and her glow up is quite evident. (Just peep Mary looking like a baddie on the single cover to see what we mean.) Although Mary and company can miss us with this musical "Glow Up," be sure to catch her flaunting her revenge body and glowing up on the last leg of her Strength Of A Woman Tour.
