Mary J. Blige undoubtedly released her last 3 albums at the end of fourth quarter so that she could benefit from the Christmas sales rush and her ‘My Life II: The Journey Continues’ LP will be no different. Indeed, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul has earmarked late November for the record’s debut.

‘My Life II: The Journey Continues’ will be available on November 21st. Featuring the tracks ‘Masterpiece’, ‘Midnight Drive’ as well as ’25/8′, the album has already been heralded by producer Pharrell as a classic piece that will elevate “black music” to a new level.

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This is definitely not surprising. Blige has not released an album outside of fourth quarter since 2003′s ‘Love & Life’ and with the exception of her ‘Stronger With Each Tear’ LP, which remains her only studio record not be certified platinum, that formula has been successul. Besides, there is absolutely no shame in her relying on the fourth quarter push to score a hit because R&B acts need all of the help that they can get to compete with the army of dominant Pop artists.

I look forward to hearing what Blige does with this LP because the songs that she debuted from the project thus far are quite dissimilar. Her life may not be defined by the turmoil that inspired the original ‘My Life’ but her new perspective might spur even better material.

Thoughts?