Fall Music Preview: The Season's Hottest Albums

Seventeen years after her breakthrough LP, My Life, which she recorded while battling drugs and domestic violence, the older, wiser R&B queen is back with a sequel. "The first My Life, I didn't understand why I was in so much pain," says Blige. "This one adds another level of understanding." The album ranges from signature self-empowerment tunes like "Masterpiece" to sexier cuts like "Midnight Drive," featuring a rap verse from Blige's alter ego Brooklyn. And she's already thinking about a sequel to the sequel: "We're going to do Act II, because it's just too much good music."