Mary J. Blige and Kanye West Collaborate on “Love Yourself,” a Soulful, Empowering New Song
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We’ve got an early taste of Mary J. Blige’s hyped collaboration with Kanye West, produced for her upcoming album Strength of a Woman. On Thursday, DJ Funkmaster Flex unveiled the two artists’ new empowering track “Love Yourself,” which mixes inspirational lyrics with a soft, tender ballad that slowly builds to West’s explosive midsong verse. The song opens with such introspective lyrics from Blige as “It’s been a long ride, but I made it here with love” and “Said I’ve been up and down, I’ve been through it all,” before imploring listeners to hear her message at the song’s conclusion. It’s a simple but powerful idea: Look inward to gather strength when the going gets tough. (Safe to say, this “Love Yourself” is a little more sincere than Justin Bieber’s famed song of the same name.)
West, for his part, offers an electrifying verse that keeps with that central theme. “Came from the Chi and wow, look what the fuck they found,” he raps at one point. “A young legend coming to shut the summer down.”
“Love Yourself” is one of many high-profile collaborations on Blige’s upcoming album and an exciting tease of what’s to come. She’s also reportedly recorded new songs with Missy Elliott, DJ Khaled, Quavo, and many more.
Strength of a Woman is set for an April 28 release.
