The singer was recently recognized as the Entertainment Icon honoree at 'Urban One Honors: Best in Black.'
Mary J. Blige knows she's built an incredible legacy for herself.
ET's Rachel Smith spoke to the 53-year-old singer for ET's Black History Month Spotlight segment, and she revealed that she does "absolutely" know the impact she's had on others.
"I can say that, in my life right now, I opened so many doors. I've given women a voice to speak their truth. It seems like everyone from pop to R&B to every female is telling their life story or something that's happened because I let them know in 1994 that it's OK," she said. "I use it as my therapy, and so a lot of people are using their music as their therapy as well."
In fact, knowing she's made a difference in other people's lives is "what sustained" Blige.
"It feels good to say that I am the reason for a lot of things that are going on right now in the industry," she said. "... I'm grateful to watch the talent and these women that are expressing themselves through their songs."
It's not just others that Blige has touched through her music, but herself as well.
"Music has healed me tremendously. It is the reason why I'm probably still around. It's been a vessel to help me get so much pain out," she said. "... We go through so much. It's not for no reason. It's to help someone else, for someone else to see us falling and get back up, and falling and get back up, and falling and get back, and still come and be triumphant and not be bitter."
While Blige "really, really realized" that she was talented at age 7, it didn't lead to immediate success. It was years later, in 1992, that her second single, "Real Love," was released.
"My family was still in the projects when 'Real Love' was released. I was still in the projects," she said. "I remember... just really singing for my life, like, literally singing for my life, singing to get my family out of the projects, singing to save our lives because we did not have a great one where we lived."
That song is an example of how Blige turned her pain into music, something that she's continued to do throughout her life, because, she said, "if I don't then it's in vein, everything that I've gone through would be in vein."
"I think that, when you go through so much, you're supposed to give through your experiences," she said. "Your supposed to help someone out... You're supposed to take that and say... 'You hated me, but I don't hate me. I forgive you. I got to move on because that's your poison, not mine. I'm not forgiving you for you, I'm forgiving you for me, so I can have peace.'"
"I learned that everything is successful for you mentally, spiritually, physically, financially, intellectually when you just release people and use all your experiences to write a book, to write a song, and really be done with it," Blige added.
Throughout her career, Blige has achieved so much, including nine GRAMMYs. She was also recently recognized as the Entertainment Icon honoree at Urban One Honors: Best in Black, which she told ET "means so much."
"To get an award like this, it means so much to be honored and to just still have people respect you, love you, and respect what you do," she said. "It means a lot."
Urban One Honors: Best in Black will premiere Feb. 25 on TV One & Cleo TV.
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