She infact narrates to Pulse about a particular experience where one of her songs influenced a particular listener's life decision bordering on an abusive relationship.

Mary also tells Pulse about her brand of music, her musical influences, plans and a liitle scoop of what's to come from her and team.

Read and enjoy the engaging interview below.

What projects are you currently working on?

I'm really excited about a few things I have in the works for this year.

I'm officially releasing a project I worked on while in New York, along with visual stories for a few of the songs. called "UNSEEN".

This past December I released the visual story for 'That day on the train', which is the first single from "Unseen". It was my first time directing any kind of visual project. I'm proud.

I'm fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful and talented artist friends.  I have a pretty awesome project being released this year in collaboration with an amazing trumpet player/artist friend of mine. That one is way out of the box!

Can you describe your typical day in the studio when making music?

It depends on whether I'm walking in with a clean slate, totally open to creating, or if I'm heading into the studio with an idea I want to flesh out.

Either way, I try to stay as true to the moment as possible.  I take some time right at the start to just let my ideas flow-a sort of stream of consciousness. I give myself (and whomever I may be working with) time with that for a bit before I begin to structure or even explore ideas.  I find it really helpful to get things out of my head and my body.

Your song 'That day on the train’ is pretty immersive. You shared it was from a personal encounter, can you tell us more about it?

Yeah, what a day!

Well, I grew up in Southern California (between San Diego and Los Angeles) where the main mode of transportation is driving.  I didn't realize how much of a stark difference this was until I decided to explore New York, where the main mode of transportation is riding the subway.

I went from having the luxury of controlling my space (which I have in my car, how many people etc.) to having no control and being completely bombarded with this influx of people traveling with me.

The funny thing about New Yorkers is that they tend to go out of their way to create this perception of being impervious to those sharing a subway ride with them.  They play music on their headphones, they read, they do anything to avoid interaction. I'm quite the opposite, especially when I first arrived in New York.  I'm curious.  I wanted to know about people.  I often created fictitious stories about their lives, just to keep things interesting.

Then one day, a gentleman walked onto the train, our eyes met and we held the gaze for an uncomfortable amount of time (LOL).  Long story short, we ended up getting off at the same stop and started talking. Talking turned into a real friendship, and that friendship developed into a love that was so important to me - mainly because it taught me the true value of loving myself.

If you were to describe your type of music in one word, what would you say it is?

Undefined.

Loving your cover of Beyonce’s ‘Best thing I never had’ - was that inspired based on personal experience?

Well, sort of.  I was part of an Acapella group that competed on NBC's "The Sing Off".  We were really disappointed when we were voted off the show.  After taking some time to reflect, we realized moving forward on the show would have actually stood in the way of each of our individual careers.  It was bittersweet. The song felt fitting.

Who are your musical influences?

Oh geez.  This is such an interesting question for me, mostly because I have so many and they tend to fluctuate over time.

Sade is a huge influence of mine.  She's so effortless and honest and graceful.  She plays by her own rules and doesn't care to impress anyone. I admire that.

Bjork is another major influence.  She dances to the beat of her own drum, and she's a musical genius.  I also adore D'Angelo, Angelique Kidjo, Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Radiohead, Prince, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Jack White, Black Thought from The Roots for the way he interprets time and cadence, Lauryn Hill, Leonard Cohen -one of the greatest songwriters ever.  Should I go on?...lol.

What’s your rehearsal schedule like, spontaneous or you have like a set time to rehearse each week?

I try to do some form of a vocal warm as part of my daily morning ritual. I feel odd if I go an entire day without singing.  It's just wrong.

With my band, it really depends on what phase I'm in.  If I'm in writing mode, I tend to see my guys less. If we're playing a ton or gearing up to record then I see them at least weekly.  I love rehearsing.  The more you rehearse, the more performing doesn't feel like you're putting on a show, if that makes sense. I aim for my shows to feel less regimented and more like the audience is joining in on a musical jam session.

What’s the best compliment a fan has ever given you?

A supporter once told me that she felt I was singing to her.  She was trying to find the strength to leave an abusive relationship, and left my show feeling empowered to do so.  The cool thing is that I almost didn't perform the song that moved her most.  The song is called 'Ka M Kuo Me (Empty)'.  I wrote it after finding my way out of a relationship that wasn't uplifting me. I'm honored that it reached someone on that level.

What kind of songs do you unwind to asides yours of course?

Jazz is go-to for me.  Otherwise, songs that I can sing along to. I often sing along to a show and imagine myself as the writer was when they wrote it. Somehow, that helps me unwind.

Did you receive formal music education to be this good with your vocals or it just comes naturally?

I've been singing since I can remember. I didn't have the opportunity to take music lessons growing up, so it wasn't until I started the Ethnomusicology program at UCLA  that I was able to begin any sort of music training. Honestly, the best "education" I've gained is from playing with the incredible musicians I've been fortunate to collaborate with over the years.

Do you write all your songs?

I sure do.  I also collaborate with other writers and friends.

But music is such a personal thing, I can't imagine anyone telling my stories the way I can.

Are you a member of any record label or affiliated with any music organization?

I am newly independent. But I am signed to SESAC for licensing and publishing.

What’s the vision for your music career?

It's ever-evolving.

Nigeria is a major focus for me right now.  I'm eager to share my music with my people here.

In my mind, there's an enormous pool filled with "my people".  These are the people I believe I'm meant to reach via music. My vision is to find all of those people, in all corners of the world, and speak/sing to them as much as possible. That, for me, would be perfection. Sade has done that so effortlessly, I think I can do so as well.