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R&B SUPERSTAR MARY J. BLIGE TALKS ABOUT LEAVING ADDICTION BEHIND

Mary J. Blige became a superstar in 1992 with What’s the 411? and she’s been dubbed the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Like many artists, she’s also struggled with addiction before finally getting clean and sober.

Like a lot of artists, Blige signed bad business deals that took time to straighten out, and she told Star2, “When I got into the music business, all I could do was sing. No one taught me what a contract meant or how to read through a contract. I was being robbed, ripped off, lied to. But I didn’t care as long as I had my alcohol, my drugs, whatever…As long as I had my supply, they could keep robbing me and telling me anything.”

Then Blige realized she was going to die if she didn’t quit drinking and using. “I was going to lose my career completely,” she says. “My husband had come into my life at that point. He challenged me. He asked me these questions: ‘Why do you hate yourself? Why do you drink so much? Why?’”

In other interviews, Blige admitted suffering from sexual abuse when she was younger and having trouble adjusting to success after she finally was released from her upbringing in the Bronx. Finally, her wake up calls came in when she lost two close friends who were artists, including Whitney Houston, who died of an overdose in 2012.

In staying sober, Blige has often relied on her religious faith. “My ritual is prayer,” she says. “I pray and I sing to myself every single day, but especially before a show. I just need to be spiritually grounded so I can deal with any challenge.

Elemental Treatment
Article by Elemental Treatment

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