"So Many People Die Pretending": 5 Powerful Lessons From Patti Labelle's Breakfast Club Interview

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Patti Labelle's pies have garnered her a new wave of attention outside of her timeless music and impressive résumé, so much so that she's on a press run and all because in the words of Patti: "I am blessed to have pies that you can’t buy! I’ve sold a lot of pies and I’m still selling as we sit!" Bloop!

Recently the iconic soul singer stopped by The Breakfast Club, but it wasn't a decadent sweet potato pie she had in tow on the morning show. Instead, the 71-year-old diva extraordinaire offered up a slice of humble pie as well as advice on life that was worth biting into. Along with avoiding ever getting caught looking dusty, the Grammy-winning singer and actress opened up about the role humility has played in her 50 years of success and relevancy, as well as the importance of keeping it as "real" as one does glamourous.

Feel free to indulge in some food for thought, courtesy of Chef Labelle, below.

1. She Measures Success on a Different Scale After Losing All Her Sisters Before their 44th Birthdays

"I’m blessed to still be here and that pie is just the icing on the cake!

I’ve been blessed with so many [immeasurable] things. With my kids, with my little family that is left, it’s a blessing for me to say, ‘Well Patti, continue to live better, so you can make it longer than your sisters.’ All three of my sisters died before they turned 44 from some form of cancer. And my mother died of diabetes. Which I am, I am a diabetic. I have diabetes, but diabetes does not have me. So I’ve been beating this!"

2. She's Very Honest About Having Older Women Problems

"I've been menopausal for 20 years. Flashing like crazy right now. I don’t take anything [for menopause]. I flash like real women. And I get on stage and I have two electric fans on both sides of the piano... and I ask the audience, 'Any woman in the audience going through menopause?'

Hot flashes, they go from your body to your skull and sometimes I have to move this wig aside (shifts wig). This is a wig, everybody knows this is a wig— because sweat comes from all over your scalp, all over your ears, all over your body. The menopause makes me sweat."

3. She Feels the Need to Always Look Clean-- “You’ll never catch me looking a mess!”

"I’m never not looking good.

No, I’m serious. I wake up with my face, and then I put on whatever hair I want, and then I touch up my lip. I don’t always do a full face of make up but when Patti gets up, I make sure I’m clean. See right now, you see these pumps?

You will never catch me at the supermarket looking [a mess]. Like I don’t wear jogging suits. I love to dress and I love to look good for the people who see me in the stores, they always say, 'Miss Patti looked like she was going to a show!’ Not out in the public, but at home [I relax]. I'm just Patti, I'm just doing Patti!"

4. Even More Important, She Feels an Obligation to Keep it Real

Patti: "Listen, I’m not living afraid of people and the public. I’m a very open lady to the world and that might be my downfall one day, I don’t know… why pretend?

"So many people die pretending. They live their life and then they die. How did they live their life? As pretenders. As wannabes."

Charlamagne Tha God: "Can you tell that to the Instagram era right now?"

Patti: "What? I have a flip top phone boo boo that was $15. That Instargam stuff- I don’t know nothing about that."

Charlamagne Tha God: "There are a lot of pretenders on Instagram."

Patti: "See I don’t know, because I don’t do it!"

5. Being Humble is the “Secret” Ingredient to Having a Successful Career

"I am humble to a fault. I am very humble. And very giving. And very forgiving. *sighs* I'm very nice.

You gotta keep your feet on the ground and know that you’re not the last piece of cake on the table. Most entertainers have this idea that they are so big because they’ve been hyped up most of their career. And they have this “top-page” in their head. I’ve never got to the “top” in my mind, so I’m still a very laid back humble lady thanks to my mother and father. And in this industry, when I see someone that is “swollen,” (full of themselves) I walk away. And if you saw me, and I was swollen, call the cops. Because that’s not Patti. I’m humble. That’s a replica!

I put people first. Like today, people were afraid to come up to be for pictures. So I said to them 'Would you like to take a picture with me?'

I'll ask you if you want to take a picture because I believe some people will not take advantage of asking a celebrity for a picture first. A celebrity? What is that? And who made them? The public! But I am that other girl!"

Bonus: She Randomly loves Fetty Wap!

"Fetty wap? I love that boy! With the one eye? I love him. He’s gangsta! I love his look. I’d do a [track] in a heart beat! There is no problem with doing something with him!"

Well, Fetty Wap did say "I be in the kitchen cooking pies with my baby!" "Trap Queen" remix featuring Patti? Now that'll be the day!

Loved the things Patti had to say in her interview, especial the parts on humility and measuring success on an immeasurable scale of life and good health. You go Ms. Labelle!

Watch the full interview on the next page!