Mary J Blige Quotes

It's the oddest match: Mary J. Blige and Julianne Hough! But we became so close. ~ Julianne Hough

Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped give them renewed strength. That's the power music has. ~ Mary J. Blige

It was only for two years, and I jumped from family to family. It's very scary. ~ Mary J. Blige

When you know what pain is, and when you have to make a choice, you learn that it is a decision. People think it's a fairytale thing, love and happiness, but you have to work hard. And then - you feel it deeply. ~ Mary J. Blige

For the first time in my life, I'm proud of myself. ~ Mary J. Blige

It hurts a lot when you cannot really comprehend what a person is saying in a meeting, or you don't even understand what you're reading in your contract. ~ Mary J. Blige

You either learn from your experiences or go back and do the same thing, and I learned from my experiences. ~ Mary J. Blige

Only black people in the whole neighborhood, so let's break it down: Me, I'm a decent comedian, I'm a'ight. Mary J. Blige, one of the greatest R&B singers to ever walk the Earth. Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers to ever live. Eddie Murphy, one of the funniest actors to ever, ever do it. Do you know what the white man that lives next door to me does for a living? He's a f*****g dentist. ~ Chris Rock

I have a song called 'Decisions' that features Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Common. It's about people who have made a decision to really stand by you as friends. ~ Busta Rhymes

Once you climb to another level, you have to figure out how to sustain it. ~ Mary J. Blige

My first album is playful. ~ Mary J. Blige

When someone comes up to me and says, 'Mary, you helped save my marriage', or, 'Mary, you helped me get out of this abusive relationship', I'm in it, really in their lives. And I'm so passionate about my feelings, but also about showing people the way through theirs. ~ Mary J. Blige

And of course these days I feel like there is a nation of us - displaced southerners and children of the working class. We listen to Steve Earle, Mary J. Blige, and k.d. lang. We devour paperback novels and tell evil mean stories, value stubbornness above patience and a sense of humor more than a college education. We claim our heritage with a full appreciation of how often it has been disdained.
And let me promise you, you do not want to make us angry. ~ Dorothy Allison

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'. ~ Mary J. Blige

I grew up watching MTV, when Journey was huge, when Pat Benatar had 'Love Is a Battlefield,' and my friends and I used to cut school to watch this woman in the video. We loved Pat Benatar. ~ Mary J. Blige

I can go out raw with nothing, and my fans would still be happy, but I feel that I owe it to them to give them almost like a Broadway musical at this point in my life. I have to give them something more, so I do have to think of different ways to do it. ~ Mary J. Blige

The music business is really, really small. The real music is becoming almost extinct, if you don't stay true to who you are. ~ Mary J. Blige

You can hate me. You can go out there and say anything you want about me, But you will love me later because I told you the truth. ~ Mary J. Blige

By the time I was a teenager, when I went outside the house, it was about hip-hop all the time. Nothing but hip-hop, block parties. ~ Mary J. Blige

I barely have time for my own children. To adopt more children and not have time for them, that would be poor parenting on my part. ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

When life is real, it's not going to be smooth. ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm my worst critic, and I like the fact that I can listen to myself now and make fun of myself, listen, make changes - 'Oh, man, that's messed up. Okay, I need to work on that; I need to work on this.' ~ Mary J. Blige

I don't think there's anything they can say about me that I haven't said about myself already. And I would be an absolute total liar, and my fans would not respect me, if I said that my life and my marriage are perfect. But we absolutely love each other; we have fun together - it's great. ~ Mary J. Blige

In the studio you can really concentrate on performing the song where as on stage you also have to worry about connecting with so many people, they're definitely different. ~ Mary J. Blige

On the radio there's only a certain amount of artists: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I., Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys. Other artists are achieving things that are really special, they have a hard time getting people's attention. Music has been just a little bit lacklustre. ~ Q-Tip

So many people are like, 'I'm perfect.' I'm so imperfect; that's why I'm able to let everything out and let people see everything. 'Cause I'm just a mess like every other person that's a mess out there. ~ Mary J. Blige

I've been a tomboy my whole life. But then you get older, you get married, you soften up. ~ Mary J. Blige

I was inspired to create 'My Life' so I could finally share a personal part of my life beyond my music. ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

There's not enough time to be disrespecting ... Life is too short. ~ Mary J. Blige

Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go through so much pain. We have to live this perfect life when we are messed up inside. We all go through trials and tribulations. ~ Mary J. Blige

I just love food, period. ~ Mary J. Blige

Growing up, I was the preferred hairstylist for all of my friends. ~ Mary J. Blige

Life is full of trials and tribulations. It's dramatic when you don't treat people right when you're in the tribulations, but I know now how to get out of it. You have to make a decision to say 'No more', and then you know what to do when the trials happen. ~ Mary J. Blige

When you finally understand who you are, ages 6 through 60 will understand who you are. Because when they see a person that's come through all that I've come through, still standing, it's amazing. ~ Mary J. Blige

When you come from so many damaged places you don't ever want to spiral back there, so you gotta continue to check yourself. ~ Mary J. Blige

If you're looking for inner peace from the outside world, you're not going to get that. The inner peace starts with looking at you from the inside. Understanding that everything that comes to you is what you are. Everything from friends to boyfriends to the job you get - it's all a direct reflection of what you are on the inside. ~ Mary J. Blige

If I'm going to be the best in what I do, I have to study what I'm doing, I have to see what I'm doing. I have to see it, I have to hear it. I'm just starting to appreciate myself - not starting, but appreciating myself in a way where I can look at myself back in a movie or listen to myself as much as I do now. ~ Mary J. Blige

Then my life crashed and burned down: trials, men, drama, no self-love, no identity. A little identity, but not a lot of love for myself, my life. ~ Mary J. Blige

I think the women - Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu - are doing new conceptual things and using their voices to create new American music. ~ Boz Scaggs

I believe there are certain things that God uses to get us out of a bad situation, and I believe music was one of the things he used for me. ~ Mary J. Blige

It's OK showing yourself some love. ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

There's so many things that life is, and no matter how many breakthroughs, trials will exist and we're going to get through it. Just be strong. ~ Mary J. Blige

I do consider myself part of black history. ~ Mary J. Blige

So as long as I'm a human being and I'm not perfect, I'm able to say I'm having some growing pains. Because in order to sustain where you are once you made such a breakthrough that everyone is looking at you, now everyone is like, 'Ooh, is she gonna make a mistake?' Yes, I'm going to make a mistake. Yes, I'm still gonna do things. ~ Mary J. Blige

Just don't let the hype of what people are saying and how much they love you, y'know, just take the compliment and be thankful that people are complimenting you, but don't let it consume you; don't let your circumstances around you and the way people view you make you act a certain way. ~ Mary J. Blige

I hated myself for so many reasons, and I thought so many things were my fault that happened to me growing up. ~ Mary J. Blige

Larry David makes me laugh. ~ Mary J. Blige

Working in the studio is a more personal experience whereas on stage in front of a billion people, its more exciting performing live. ~ Mary J. Blige

I like French fries; I like mashed. I love potatoes. ~ Mary J. Blige

God comes first - if I don't love him, I can't love anybody, and if I can't love me I can't love nobody. ~ Mary J. Blige

It's challenging to find an identity as a young person if you don't have the sustenance of love, because you're being shipped around. ~ Mary J. Blige

I can't just make a song people can dance in a club to ... it still has to be real. ~ Mary J. Blige

Without your health, everything else means nothing. ~ Mary J. Blige

No one intimidates me because I'm not trying to do what you do, because I can't do what you do. I can only do what Mary J. Blige can do, so that relaxes me right there, and it gets me out of the competition and that whole thing. ~ Mary J. Blige

I always want to be a messenger, a person that, you know, that's not afraid to pass on wisdom. ~ Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige is the Queen Latifah character. Her voice in this movie [Rock of ages] is, she just gives it this incredible warmth, and she's just this person who blows out of the screen. She's just incredible. ~ Adam Shankman

When you're going to do whatever you're going to do, you have to get your, put your mind into it. ~ Mary J. Blige

If you're not confident in yourself, you're going to waver. I've wavered, and I've lost. ~ Mary J. Blige

I don't want no drama in my life, even though we have a little bit, but no more letting people control you. That's drama, because then you become something that you're not. ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm searching for a real love. ~ Mary J. Blige

The streets respect me because I kept it real with me. You gotta be real with yourself, and the streets recognize game. ~ Mary J. Blige

Your circumstances do not make you who you are! ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

Two hurt people can not help each other. They can not. ~ Mary J. Blige

I didn't never have to go to a therapist. I just always put it in a song and you heard me. ~ Mary J. Blige

I'd like to collaborate with Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige. ~ Robin Thicke

I wouldn't adopt, but what I will do is give my time and go and try to be there for people. ~ Mary J. Blige

Nowadays, with the state of the music business, for any artist, whether you're up-and-coming or you've been in it for awhile, you have to explore different revenues and different ways of expressing yourself. ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm hoping that my entrepreneurial side will have me at a place where I don't have to do anything. That's what I'm striving for. ~ Mary J. Blige

Sometimes I frown and I don't realise it. ~ Mary J. Blige

I had to learn how to trust my gut. Trust what I know to be right ... not right, but not waver on who I am. Know who I am, know what I want, and know it. Not waver on it and be secure in that. And I still struggle with it. But I really ... I can't be moved. You can't move me, and that all comes with loving myself, and I'm like my best buddy. ~ Mary J. Blige

You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect. ~ Mary J. Blige

You can't get around pain and opposition, but you can try to be joyful in the trial, and thank yourself for the trial, and thank God for the strength to get through it. ~ Mary J. Blige

In your life there's peaks and valleys and sometimes we regress, and we don't even know we regress. You just have to learn how to accept all of your mistakes and learn to love yourself again. ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm from the element of the streets that says that once you've made it, it's yours. But keep it to yourself. ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

It hurts when you have to smile and you don't want to smile, but the best thing to do is to smile. ~ Mary J. Blige

People know what they see but they don't know what's happening inside. If you want to know who you are and how you feel about yourself, take a look at your environment. ~ Mary J. Blige

I blame my mother for nothing, but forgive her for everything. ~ Mary J. Blige

I wish I had an extra day with my mom sometimes. Or another hour in the day with my family, husband and children. ~ Mary J. Blige

Everything is scary if you look at it. So you just got to live. ~ Mary J. Blige

The younger Mary J. Blige, I would call her, she was very unaware, ignorant. ~ Mary J. Blige

I decided to start my own label because so many people with talent come to me wanting to know how they can get in the music business. ~ Mary J. Blige

The only person that I'm really feeling - because she has an identity of her own, even though she has listened to Mary J. Blige - is Jill Scott. ~ Mary J. Blige

One of the album's songs features Mary J. Blige, but I don't want to talk too much about it yet. I think you will hear the music that's been playing in my head when it comes out. ~ Chaka Khan

Love is wonderful, amazing, and the best thing that can happen to us. ~ Mary J. Blige

I have a very eclectic iPod. So I've got my cardio people - so it's anything from Beyonce to some Jay-Z to Janelle Monae, her song 'Tightrope,' that's a good cardio song. And then I've got Sting. I've got Mary J. Blige. I've got The Beatles. I've got Michael Jackson. I try to pick the songs that I personally love. ~ Michelle Obama

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

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. ~ Mary J. Blige

I like to do interior design, I love to quilt, I love to see different colors together, and I love to match things up. ~ Mary J. Blige

I like what I see when I'm looking at me when I'm walking past the mirror, ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm going down! Because you ain't around, baby, my whole world's upside down! ~ Mary J. Blige

I remember a time when all my fans were crying and sad and going through hell. Now, we're trying to uplift each other and accept ourselves for who we are, even if nobody else does. ~ Mary J. Blige

I don't know what kind of God the rest of y'all are serving, but the God I serve says, 'Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I'm gonna make sure you're doing that.' ~ Mary J. Blige

I'm a child of God. God is my mommy, my daddy. That's the only thing that'll keep my head up. If I don't remember who I am in him, I'm done. ~ Mary J. Blige

If I could ever be on a Missy Elliott record, I could then die. Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige - I love hearing them interviewed, I love the way they talk about their art. They're very self-assured, they're funny, they're inviting. I love it. ~ Neko Case

You have to have a plan. Everything has to be planned. For me, I start with the title of my album, before I even start with the songs. I write down different things that I want album to say, and then the songs come from the different words. ~ Mary J. Blige