Produced mostly (exclusively?) by Sacramento's N8 the Gr8, R&B singer Maryann has a high but unforced voice, imperfect and often leaning on Auto-Tune. Basically she sounds like Cassie. It's nothing new, but something about the typo-titled "More Then Lover Friends" is really connecting with my early Monday daze—enough to let her Soundcloud page play for a while, uncovering a few bonus, sleepy-eyed gems. Maryann is putting in admirable studio work: an album came out last fall—Timing Is Everything—and a followup is already on the way, called Futuristic Always.
Stream: Maryann f. Chuuwee, "More Then Lover Friends"
Stream: Maryann, "Make or Break Us"
Stream: Maryann, "I Could Give A"