Mary J. Blige Reveals Why HerMy LifeAlbum Was 'So Important': 'I Was in a Dark Place Where I Didn't Wanna Live'

Mar. 15, 2025

Mary J. Blige attends the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 5, 2023.Photo:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Mary J. Bligeowes her life to her seminal sophomore album.

The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, 53, looked back on her 1994 LP,My Life, during arecent conversation withBillboard, revealing how grateful she is for the project’s impact on her past struggles.

“That album is so important, because it was so pivotal for when it came time for me to choose,” Blige shared with the outlet. “I was in a dark place where I didn’t wanna live, and I was begging people to love me and stay with me. Now, I’m not begging anyone to love and stay with me. I love myself. I found my real love. My true love is myself and I.”

She went on to detail the LP’s significance to her eventual self-love journey, saying, “That’s why when it was time for me to choose theMy Lifealbum, I chose my life.”

“I chose my life and my fans when it was time to make that turn because I didn’t want to off myself and take half my fanbase with me,” Blige concluded. “That didn’t seem right. I always had a conscious and a spiritual grounding. That’s what made me choose.”

Mary J. Blige in New York City in June 2021.Theo Wargo/Getty

Theo Wargo/Getty

The “Family Affair” artist released her acclaimed second studio album on Nov. 29, 1994, and went on to receive a best R&B album nomination for it in 1996. The three-time platinum-certified LP is revered as one of her biggest classics and was also the sole focus of her2021 Prime Video documentary,Mary J. Blige’s My Life— in which she recalled her early rise to fame and the inspiration behind her defining work.

Another 30th anniversary Blige is coming up on is for her Grammy-winning smash “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By,” the iconic collaboration she recorded with longtime friend andPower Book II: GhostcostarMethod Man. Remembering how they teamed up for the ’90s track, the"Real Love" performer toldBillboardshe was a “full Method Man andWu-Tang Clanfan” back then, so it was only right the pair got in the studio together during the height of their careers.

“So Meth did the song in the studio; I believe it was his birthday, and they were there watching me record that song,” Blige recalled. “Meth was so happy. He’s such a beautiful, sweet man. I love him so much. When we did the video, the same thing happened. I had a blast. He’s a beautiful man.”

Mary J. Blige in New York City on Aug. 6, 2024.John Nacion/Getty

John Nacion/Getty

Blige is gearing up for the last stretch of her Starz series’fourth and final season, which resumes on Sept. 6. The bittersweet ending comes just ahead of another major milestone for the R&B icon: herinduction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This year, the singer is recognized alongside legendary performers likeCher,Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & the Gang and more.

“It means so much because I worked so hard,” Blige toldBillboardof the achievement. “My fans have given me so much, and when I say, ‘We did it,’ I mean my fans and I. We did this because, without them, there’s no me. Through all my blood, sweat, and tears, suffering, getting up and falling down, they were there. It means a lot to accomplish something like that.”

source: people.com