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.

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.

Everything is scary if you look at it. So you just got to live.

You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I've overcome it.

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.

I can tell you I didn't feel good when I could not articulate properly. Getting my GED was important and I want other women to feel that.

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