Top 175 Quotes & Sayings by Mary J. Blige
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American musician Mary J. Blige.
Last updated on December 25, 2024.
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.
For the first time in my life, I'm proud of myself.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
I believe this generation should know their history and they should know that the struggle's not over yet.
If you're here right now in your life, your journey continues and you've lived to tell the story.
You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.
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.
I can see the music. I know what it looks like. I know what color it is. The words come easy, the tears come easy, and the joy comes easy. The music tells you what to do.
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.
When you hold on to anger and unforgiveness, you can't move forward.
When you tell your truth, you are coming from a real place, so you are automatically a leader.
It's OK showing yourself some love.
I didn't never have to go to a therapist. I just always put it in a song and you heard me.
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.
There's not enough time to be disrespecting... Life is too short.
I'm striving toward this acting thing. I'm definitely gonna work hard on that, whatever comes my way, I'm gonna work hard on it.
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'.
You either learn from your experiences or go back and do the same thing, and I learned from my experiences.
When life is real, it's not going to be smooth.
Believe in yourself when nobody else does.
You demand respect and you'll get it. First of all, you give respect.
I like French fries; I like mashed. I love potatoes.
Thank you so much for supporting me from the day I stepped foot into the music industry. It really means something to me to have Maya Angelou speak on my behalf. It also means a lot to have Oprah on my speed dial!
'My Life' is not an autobiography. It's just music.
One day I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere by blaming other people for my circumstances. I finally understood: Even if you feel someone has wronged you or owes you something, no one is going to give you anything for free.
Everything is scary if you look at it. So you just got to live.
If you're not confident in yourself, you're going to waver. I've wavered, and I've lost.
Once you climb to another level, you have to figure out how to sustain it.
From being a little girl in the projects, going through all of the mess that I was going through, to ending up at the Inauguration for the first African-American president, I'm speechless right now because I never thought I'd - I never ever - I couldn't even see that far. Even when I ended up in the music business, I couldn't see that.
I listen to gospel music.
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.
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 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.
It hurts when you have to smile and you don't want to smile, but the best thing to do is to smile.
I don't think I'll do foster care or adopt, to be quite honest.
When I was a child I didn't care about getting an education, and I didn't finish high school.
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.
I don't know. Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose and I choose to win.
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.
I wish I had known that education is the key. That knowledge is power. Now I pick up books and watch educational shows with my husband. I'm seeing how knowledge can elevate you.
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.
Sometimes I frown and I don't realise it.
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.
My main exercise is cardio. The treadmill is fine, but running outdoors gives me the best results. I try to log 6 to 8 miles a week. I could be in the worst mood, but when I do my cardio, I feel much, much better.
I've been a tomboy my whole life. But then you get older, you get married, you soften up.
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.
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.
The music business is not a good place for people who don't know things.
My responsibility to God is to live. That's the gift he gave me.
I know who I am. I am not perfect. I'm not the most beautiful woman in the world. But I'm one of them.
My journey continues, because I've, you know, conquered a lot. And I know how to conquer the rest.
It was only for two years, and I jumped from family to family. It's very scary.
Without your health, everything else means nothing.
I do consider myself part of black history.
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