I do believe in prophecy.

Everybody has their own path. I got mine.

I like Brandy a lot. She's a vocal prodigy.

I didn't even listen to Bob Marley until I was 17.

I know that I pray a lot, and I take time for myself.

When I perform, I'm just very much just being myself.

I always have something by Stevie Wonder in my CD player.

It's OK to wear white in the wintertime. Do what you want.

I think anyone who is ever on TV is a role model for somebody.

In this era, soul is not a sound or a color: it's an intention.

Obviously, I've been heartbroken. We all know what that feels like.

Just to keep myself balanced, I do things like yoga and meditation.

I know the things I say go out of my own mouth and into my own ears.

For me, the healing process starts with graciousness and forgiveness.

Listening to 'Songs in the Key of Life' always puts me in a good mood.

Denying any person their humanity is a game we should all stop playing.

If we can just focus our attention where it matters, we can effect change.

Neo-soul is really less about a sound than it is about a look, in my opinion.

I'm really judgmental, especially about things that I feel make my life harder.

What I love about Christmas music is it stays around every year and comes back.

To spread love, healing, peace, and joy is my mission in life - and so I speak up.

Why not be a person who is loving towards humankind as a whole and people as individuals?

I hope that the things that I sing about will be an inspiration for people to be original.

I'm not just making rhymes and making melodies. I'm expressing my true life force, energy.

You need to take care of you and fortify yourself and then move out to take care of others.

Sound is energy, and that energy resonates with your energy. And it gives you a certain feeling.

At 16, I started really loving country music, and Collin Raye just had the most amazing ballads!

Basically, I listen to voices. If they write good songs and they can sing, I'll probably like it.

I always loved music, but I didn't know if I could be the kind of artist that makes a difference.

So many people have been abused. It's not rare; it's a very common human experience, and we survive.

Between '06 and '09, I dealt with pain by eating. And I was like, 'Oh, crap, eating makes you gain weight!'

In hindsight, I feel like I made the right decision to choose production that would get played on black radio.

In my opinion, you just have to make the music. Make the music and work as hard as you can to get it out there.

The subconscious doesn't distinguish sarcasm and jokes. It just accepts what it hears. That's the power of words.

I'm in show business, and I'm an entertainer, but I also see myself as an artist doing social and spiritual work.

Joe Sample was one of my heroes. I met him at the Curacao Jazz festival, and I fanned out like he was the Beatles!

Every once in a while, I find something that I'm interested in just because of the singing, like the Goo Goo Dolls.

What I love about Stevie Wonder is the way he makes people feel. He's one of the best examples of how music can heal.

It was challenging getting myself into the mindset to lose the weight. Once I got there, the weight dropped off quickly.

I always pray when I write songs that my spirit guides, or whoever is with me, inspiring me, would let me speak the truth.

I don't really consider myself a teacher. I think - like, I have opinions like everyone else, and I just share my opinions.

I like being a role model - people have told me that I am a role model for empowered women, but I don't see myself that way.

I am on an album with theater icon Billy Porter called the 'Soul of Richard Rodgers.' Our duet is called 'Carefully Taught.'

It's cool to hear my songs on the radio. But for me, that's just a way to get more people to have the option of choosing my music.

I was scared of failing, and I was scared of succeeding. I just wanted to be in a safe space and not grow too big or be too little.

Nobody looked like me when I was growing up. None of the kids were as big as me, or as serious as me, or listened to the same music.

There's a difference in being opinionated and judgmental; I'm still trying to figure out what that fine line is - I think we are all.

I've spent my entire life trying to figure out why I was different than everybody else. Why is my voice so deep? Why am I so muscular?

I've been trying to arrive at a person who is self-defined and able to make my own mistakes rather than having other people make them for me.

Even when it doesn't look good, it's always good. Even the worst thing, there's always something good that comes out of it. I've learned that.

Share This Page