Mary J. Blige recently announced that she spent her summer in London recording new music and she's introduced her new sound with the first offering "Right Now."
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul has been putting in some major work with Disclosure and Sam Smith, who wrote and produced the synth-heavy track along with Jimmy Napes.
Blige has also been in the studio with executive producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and British hitmakers including Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy.
While working on her new project, Blige said being in London brings back memories of the freedom American music once had.
"Our idea was to become part of London, to really embrace the culture, to really live in it," Blige told The Guardian. "The music is free over here the way it used to be in the States. Artists are just free to do what they love. Listening to the radio you can hear the freedom. The music is living and breathing — you can hear that from Adele's last album."
Sam Smith seems excited for the world to hear Blige's new sound.
"With my record — and when you think about Adele, and Amy Winehouse and Ed Sheeran — we're not worried about the way we're looking, the way we're coming across in our music," he said. "We're just saying what's in our minds and in our hearts. Some people think that when you are singing about heartbreak, or how lonely you are, or how sad, that you are admitting to weakness. But I don't see that as weakness. I see that as strength — to be able to face your issues and your sadness head-on. That's what I've tried to do in my music, and I think that's what this Mary album is about — a fearless vulnerability."
Check out Mary J. Blige's latest effort after the jump.
