I'm hoping that my entrepreneurial side will have me at a place where I don't have to do anything. That's what I'm striving for.

The fact is that everyone at the labels wants to do what everyone else is doing. You have to look like her; you have to be like her; you have to sing like her, and no one can express themselves. I look at Rihanna and I am so proud of her. She speaks loudly! You have to stand up and clap. She expresses herself through fashion. She actually can sing. And her songs mean something, even to me, you know?

There are people out there who want to provoke me and bring back the old Mary but I'm not giving them the satisfaction.

I can tell you I didn't feel good when I could not articulate properly. Getting my GED was important and I want other women to feel that.

The music business is really, really small. The real music is becoming almost extinct, if you don't stay true to who you are.

You either learn from your experiences or go back and do the same thing, and I learned from my experiences.

I had to learn how to trust my gut. Trust what I know to be right... not right, but not waver on who I am. Know who I am, know what I want, and know it. Not waver on it and be secure in that. And I still struggle with it. But I really... I can't be moved. You can't move me, and that all comes with loving myself, and I'm like my best buddy.