Mary J. Blige Says She Was ‘Afraid Of Success’ But Diddy Helped Her To Be Ambitious In Her Career

“Mary J. Blige is one of the greatest storytellers in R&B history,” Diddy told PEOPLE. “She created a lane for women around the world to speak their truth to power, so nobody deserves this success more than her.”

In the same breath, Blige showed love to her close friend and even admitted he played a significant role in her facing success head-on.

“Puff was a huge inspiration for me,” she said, according to the outlet. “He wanted all of this for me more than I wanted it myself.”

“I was not as ambitious as Puff,” she continued. “When I met him, I was afraid of success, afraid to do anything that could put so much attention on me. When you come from where I come from, you’re scared to be ambitious. You’re scared to want more. And then when I met him, he was the complete opposite. He was such a good thing for me because I needed what he had, to be excited to be seen, to have the lights on him. But it took some years to grow into that.”