They wanted us to sit down, but there wasn't a place to sit down. The place was so small you could stand in the middle and touch everything. They must have slept sitting up on the couch.

I was never interested in singing in the church choir or in school. I was more interested in becoming a musician.

Everything I do is collaborative. It's just my way. I'm really very interested in how the other musicians perceive the song.

Being black, I'm involved in the reparations movement. It's focused toward the African-American audience. We could begin to heal.

There's a lot happening in many of us. I think you have to celebrate every part. It's what you are. You have to try to find all of those secret names.

I've been singing since I was 5 years old. Not in-the-church-thing kind of way. I always made up music. Since I was a little girl. Improvisation was with me from the beginning. It drove my parents crazy. I would sing all the time. To anything. Television show themes. I loved to imitate the sounds.