I don't know what kind of God the rest of y'all are serving, but the God I serve says, 'Mary, you need to be the hottest thing this year, and I'm gonna make sure you're doing that.'

Negative words are powerful boomerangs so be careful what you say about people and yourself.

I didn't never have to go to a therapist. I just always put it in a song and you heard me.

You have to create different things, either through lighting or changing the format of the songs and how you're going to sing them, and even sometimes props.

As a child I always wanted to be a singer. The music my mother played in the house moved me - Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Mahalia Jackson. It was truly spiritual. It made you understand what God was. We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.

I mean, I know my heart is not clean, and your heart is not clean, and none of our urban hearts are clean. But you can be washed again.

You know a lot, but you don't know everything.