To write a good song, an artist has to drawn from reality. There has to be some spark from realism that communicates a real feeling to someone else. You have to be real. Or you have to be a really good storyteller.
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I have gone from one relationship to a marriage and stepchildren.
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I'd like to see more crossover between white and black music. That's something I've been advocating for years.
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To me, there's two kinds of music these days. There's ephemeral music, and there's music that has lasting power and depth.
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I'm a born collaborator. This is what I was born to do, really.
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I'm in the trenches; I do the best work I can always do. Having said that, the way that what I do converges with the outside world is fascinating to me. Because it ebbs and flows. People's interest and understanding, it changes all the time.
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I'm constantly on my toes and re-examining my own music.
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Like all soul singers, I grew up singing in church but sometimes I would leave early and sit in the car listening to gospel band, The Blind Boys of Alabama. Hearing their lead singer Clarence made me connect the idea of church and show business and see how I could make a career singing music that stirred the soul.
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You don't have to be a good singer any more if you can rap well.
