Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
When I first started in this industry, my goal was to be some best friend. The sidekick. I thought that would be an accomplishment.
I'm not a politician; I'm an artist. So I always feel the need to give the unfiltered truth, (or) what I think is the truth, at least.
I feel like Harriet Tubman, except I am trying to free people through underground music, to free themselves creatively and inspirationally.
I always think about the next generation and creating a different blueprint for them. That's my goal: to let them know there's another way.
I think if people genuinely want to help ... that'll shine through, no matter what color or what race. We cannot see race before compassion.
I have not lost any of my crazy, fearless, raw, soulful, eclectic side and I plan on continuing to tell universal stories in an unforgettable way.
I spend a lot of time in the future, But to help the future, sometimes you got to go back to the past, and sometimes you got to stay in the present.
It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.
I'm a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all, and find my place in it.
I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's when I realized that I could actually go away.
I wouldn't be as comfortable with who I am if it had not been for Prince. I mean, my label 'Wondaland' would not exist without 'Paisley Park' coming before us.
Maybe I'm outdated in thinking this, but because I'm a young black woman and don't see very many being the lead in a film, I have this fear: 'Will I be working?'
Becoming a CoverGirl is truly an honor and a gift. It opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out.
I'm not focused on being perfect. I like trial and error. You learn through uncomfortable experiences. And now I know what doesn't work for me, and I know what does.
We don't all have to take the same coordinates to get to the same destination. Being a young African American female artist, I want to open doors for young black girls.
I won't sit here and say I've never had a pimple, but I try to have a really great diet, you know, lots of vegetables and fish. And I think stress plays a huge part too.
I feel myself becoming the fearless person I have dreamt of being. Have I arrived? No. But I'm constantly evolving and challenging myself to be unafraid to make mistakes.
The colors black and white are my uniform, to honor the working class. People like my parents, who were janitors and had to wear a uniform every day. It keeps me grounded.
Some songs you get. Some songs you may not. And I think that's the beauty of art: to question and to ask, to understand the deeper meaning after two or three or four listenings.
One of my core values is to help redefine what it means to be a strong and beautiful woman in the music and fashion worlds and to empower the wonderful things that make us unique.
Things might not go as planned, but at the end of the day it’s up to me to take those risks and do what I love most. And I don’t owe anybody an explanation. My journey is my journey.
People in my family and camp who grew up listening to rap music love 'We Are Young.' I've heard it play at weddings. I've heard it in graduation parties. It's a big idea and big song.
I love men. But evil men? I will not tolerate that. You don't deserve to be in my presence. If you're going to rule this world, I am not going to contribute anymore until you change it.
Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable. i didn't have to become perfect because I've learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.
Lauryn Hill, P-Funk, Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy - I have a very diverse palate for music. I can go from Judy Garland to Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Wonder to Rachmaninoff. I just love great music.
One of my mantras is, 'Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.' I keep that with me in my back pocket. Shoot, I keep it in my front pocket! I keep it in my hair.
Honestly, I don’t believe in menswear. I focus on what pieces are most timeless, transcendent, match my lifestyle, remain remarkable, and command intriguing attention across the room at an art gallery.
Honestly, I don't believe in menswear. I focus on what pieces are most timeless, transcendent, match my lifestyle, remain remarkable, and command intriguing attention across the room at an art gallery.
It's hard for me to be serious. I can't really rub oil on me and go all the way with it [laughs]. I hear some screams and I laugh to myself. I always get a kick out of it. I'm three feet tall, basically.
I want people to know about these visionary artists. I want people to know what they stand for and (that) they are representing something unique, something fresh. I am just so excited about their careers.
Android is a new form of the other, but you can parallel the other to so many different types of people. Even if you don't consider yourself to be the other, at one point in time I'm sure you felt like that.
I've gotten scripts over the years, but I believe it was the stories of 'Moonlight' and 'Hidden Figures' that really touched my heart and aligned with the messages that I felt were extremely important to me.
Part of what my music represents is to stand up and be the voice of those who feel like they are not heard and want to be treated with respect regardless of race, color, orientation - android, cyborg, whatever.
I've been very blessed to have worked with two incredible directors - Barry Jenkins on 'Moonlight' and Ted Melfi on 'Hidden Figures' - and it was a collaborative effort in shaping my characters, Teresa and Mary.
When I got into the music industry, I wasn't focused on being the most famous artist or even getting a major record deal. It was just to make music on my own terms or create my own image, do my own hair, do my own makeup.
Children go with whatever makes them feel good - like if that's the color green or orange, they do that with their clothes. As I've grown older, everything reversed. My music, my personality - onstage those things became my colors.
As a businesswoman you have to be open. I'm always open to listening and learning and considering. However, I don't look at business as anything other than a partnership. And in any partnership both parties need to leave the table happy.
My grandmother was the matriarch. If you didn't have a place to stay, if you needed food, if you were just coming out of jail or rehab, you went to her. Watching her in our family and our wider community was what inspired me and still does.
I hope women feel confident with themselves and realize that we don't all have to look alike or be the same size to be beautiful. I hope they feel like representing what it means to be an individual and to remain comfortable in your own skin.
Redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy. I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way.
I believe it's time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them. Becoming a CoverGirl is truly and honor and a gift: it opens up a new platform for me to inspire women to feel stronger, braver and more beautiful inside and out.
No matter if you wear a small amount of makeup, no makeup, or heavy makeup, as long as you feel beautiful internally and you're doing beautiful things for other people, and not just focusing on the exterior to make yourself happy, I think you should do what works for you. You should rock on.
I speak about androids because I think the android represents the new 'other.' You can compare it to being a lesbian or being a gay man or being a black woman ... What I want is for people who feel oppressed or feel like the 'other' to connect with the music and to feel like, 'She represents who I am.'
I really just want to encourage and inspire people to use their freedom in a positive way and in a way that is inspiring to other people. I want to continue to pass down the seeds of change within the world. I think that it can start with just one person. Just like a rumor can get carried on, so can inspiration.
I'm really thankful to have my own record label. I've always looked up to people like Madonna when she launched Maverick Records. Even Jay Z and Sean "Puffy" Combs, who's a mentor and also gave me a shot when I was an independent artist in Atlanta. He came to my show, and he said, "I just want people to know about you."
I'm always thinking about that young girl or young boy who doesn't quite know if their music, their messaging, their imaging, their voice is going to pop, if people are going to understand them. So I represent the other and those who feel like they don't even want to be normal. They embrace the things that make them unique.
I have a great body, I really do. But I want to be taken seriously as an artist, and wearing anything that shows it off will be a distraction from the music. That's how my signature uniform, my tuxedo, came about. It's classic and timeless. You'll see me in black, white, and a pop of color on my lips. That pop adds a little magic.
I'm always thinking about young people first when I'm writing music. Whenever I can reach that young person and inspire them to go after their own dreams, start their own movement just like I did with Wondaland. Starting their own tribe and showing people that we are not all the same, we're not all monolithic. I think that's what it's all about for me.
You had to change who you were to become famous. I thought that for a very long time. Even after signing a record deal, and then eventually getting my own recording company, Wonderland Records, I had to say no to a lot of opportunities to become well known. If it didn't align with my values and if it didn't support the image I had created for myself, I'd pass.
There are some groups that for years and years have not gotten the rights that the majority of human beings have, and I think that it's important to continue to draw these parallels so that when we think about our future we can change some of the lives of people who love differently than we do, look different than we do, who come from a different class. It's all about bringing awareness to how important it is to be accepting of people...and there will be oppression if one group thinks they're more important or superior.