It's OK showing yourself some love.
When you're going to do whatever you're going to do, you have to get your, put your mind into it.
People in my neighborhood inspired me to sing. Believe in your ability no matter what, but be realistic with yourself and your ability.
I just want fans to walk away knowing that no matter what's going on, no matter how happy you are, no matter how sad you are, we did it. We're strong in this. We've come a long way, and life is not just one thing.
I don't listen to people's opinions. I have people around me who I can trust, but most of all I listen to myself.
I believe that anything man himself can do for me, God can do for me in a greater way. I decided to pray and to seek God on my own. I just stayed in The Word. And it worked.
It's sad that a lot of identities are lost and a lot of careers are lost because there's sort of a clone thing going on.
Love is wonderful, amazing, and the best thing that can happen to us.
The streets respect me because I kept it real with me. You gotta be real with yourself, and the streets recognize game.
My God is a God who wants me to have things. He wants me to bling. He wants me to be the hottest thing on the block.
I believe there should be no more drama, but it's everywhere you go. It's just about how you get out. You've gotta bob and weave because it's everywhere. How do I keep the drama low? It's about using your head.
You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.
If we didn't have understanding of our journey, we wouldn't be able to go on. We'd be stuck, like, 'Why me?'
I wish I had an extra day with my mom sometimes. Or another hour in the day with my family, husband and children.
I cannot save the world, that's not what I'm trying to do. I guess I'm just trying to walk the walk and be an example to those that want it. Not everybody does, but if Mary J Blige can come out of that same hole you were in, then you can do it too - that's my goal: to do that without saying it, but actually live it.
I think women should band together to get us more respect in all the businesses that we're in because, you know, if we turn 40, we're nothing and nobody. We all should band together and just say we're not gonna go down like that.
I used to think I was ugly. I thought I looked like a camel. A person who doesn't love themselves, they will see anything that pops up on their face. I've seen squirrels, I've seen a bird, and I've seen all kinds of animals on my face. But that is the result of self-hate. I've learned to say: 'You know what? I am a beautiful black woman'.
As a child I always wanted to be a singer. The music my mother played in the house moved me - Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Mahalia Jackson. It was truly spiritual. It made you understand what God was. We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.
When I was five years old I was molested and just, you know. I remember feeling, literally right before it happened, I just could not believe that this person was going to do this to me. That thing followed me all my life. The shame of thinking my molestation was my fault - it led me to believe I wasn't worth anything.
Don't give up, be positive and if you know someone who knows someone at a record company don't stop beating down their door till you get heard. Don't ever say it'll never happen or it'll never happen.
There are people out there who want to provoke me and bring back the old Mary but I'm not giving them the satisfaction.
I didn't never have to go to a therapist. I just always put it in a song and you heard me.
You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.
That's the message I want to give to every up-and-coming artist: Do everything that is going to help you later. If you clone somebody else, that's all they're gonna keep wanting from you.
I have to have lemon and honey. I have to have apple cider vinegar, Braggs. And I have to have either Red Vines or Twizzlers. These things, you know, are the things that help my vocal performance.
