Mary J. Blige Says Faith And Financial Education Helped Her Take Control of Her Career

The queen of hip-hop soul says confronting pride and learning the business side of music were key to taking ownership of her career.

Mary J. Blige is reflecting on the hard-earned lessons that helped her move from simply being the talent to taking greater control of the business behind her career.

During a recent episode of the “IMO” podcast, hosted by former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, the nine-time Grammy-winning singer reflected on a pivotal period surrounding her 2001 album, No More Drama. Blige said she eventually realized that while some people around her were taking advantage of her lack of business knowledge, she also needed to take responsibility for understanding the decisions affecting her career.

“I used to get upset and curse everybody out because things weren’t working,” Blige admitted. “And it wasn’t their fault. It was my fault.”

That realization led the artist to apologize to people who helped bring No More Drama to life and examine her own approach to relationships and leadership.

Blige also credited faith and Christian teachings with helping her confront what she described as pride and arrogance. “It’s the spiritual side of things,” she said, explaining that listening to pastors and other spiritual leaders pushed her to pause and examine herself.

“I realized that I was being prideful and disrespectful to people,” Blige said. “Pump the brakes. I’m doing something wrong here.”

The legendary R&B singer also talked about financial literacy and the importance of artists understanding the business behind their creativity. Blige said she recognized that people around her had benefited from the fact that she was “unaware” of certain aspects of the industry.

“When I woke up and realized, you know, Mary, you have to get educated. You have to stay on your business,” she said.

Blige, whose career spans more than three decades, has built a catalog that includes eight multiplatinum albums and more than 50 million albums sold worldwide, according to her official biography. No More Drama remains a defining chapter in that journey, but her latest reflections place the focus on what came behind the music: accountability, education, and ownership.