You Can't Get Around Pain And Opposition,

I Started Speaking About What I Was Dealing With Through My Music, And 4 Million Women Responded And Said, 'us Too, Mary.' And I Didn't Know That Everyone Was Hurting Like I Was Hurting. I Had No Idea.

From Being A Little Girl In The Projects, Going Through All Of The Mess That I Was Going Through, To Ending Up At The Inauguration For The First African-american President, I'm Speechless Right Now Because I Never Thought I'd - I Never Ever - I Couldn't Even See That Far. Even When I Ended Up In The Music Business I Couldn't See That.

When You Come From So Many Damaged Places You Don't Ever Want To Spiral Back There, So You Gotta Continue To Check Yourself.

Nowadays, With The State Of The Music Business, For Any Artist, Whether You're Up-and-coming Or You've Been In It For Awhile, You Have To Explore Different Revenues And Different Ways Of Expressing Yourself.

My Main Exercise Is Cardio. The Treadmill Is Fine, But Running Outdoors Gives Me The Best Results. I Try To Log 6 To 8 Miles A Week. I Could Be In The Worst Mood, But When I Do My Cardio, I Feel Much, Much Better.