Melanie Fiona- 'The MF Life' (album)

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Melanie Fiona can SING. Saaang even. Fiona lets her heart do the talking on the majority of her second album, "The MF Life". (Melanie Fiona Life? Or Muthafuckin Life?) Fiona flies under the radar for most people who don’t take notice of the R&B/Hip-Hip Hot 100 and that’s a mistake in itself, as "Life" straddles both contemporary and classic R&B sounds, making for a diverse and extremely listenable LP.

The album opens with "This Time" with a positive "Independent Woman"-esque message featuring J. Cole, but the album is quick to turn to Fiona’s sombre and vulnerable side. With "4am", she tries to deal with a lover who is everywhere but where he is supposed to be, while in "Wrong Side of A Love Song" she tries to comprehend how she ended up being the one “who’s standing left behind”.

The albums strong points come from the more classic throwback tunes "Watch Me Work", "Bones" and "Running", where she is accompanied by the elusive Nas, where you can truly hear the singers longing and desperation (in a good way), for all her relationship troubles to be over and done.

What’s interesting is that "Life" features six guest features, all of which are male (along with J. Cole and Nas, B.O.B, John Legend, T-Pain and Snoop Dogg pop up to get a piece of the oh-so-sweet MF Life). So for anyone expecting a rival to Brandy and Monica’s "It All Belongs To Me" or a "The Boy Is Mine" part 2, isn’t gonna find it on here, although it can be expected that the reason why Fiona has made this decision is to get the male perspective into how it feels to be on the Wrong Side of a Love Song.

For whatever reason it may be, it makes for an interesting dynamic to the album, although it must be said Fiona holds her own on her MuthaFuckin Life completely.

A

Key Tracks: Watch Me Work, Can’t Say I Never Loved You