We weren't allowed to have secular music in the house growing up. I was home-schooled, and gospel was the only choice we had.
My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic choices, in the way that I sing and write songs. I have always had that as part of my background and part of my influence when I am making music.
Music wasn't forced on me [in my childhood]. It was something I wanted to do. And ever since, I've never stopped, I've never stopped playing music.
Sometimes I start just on the piano with a melody or musical idea that kind of leads me to certain lyrics.
I don't feel like that many musicians are competitive with each other.
I don't get to listen to music for fun very often; a lot of what I'm hearing is for work and isn't released yet.
To me, as a musician, there aren't any boundaries genre-wise as far as what can you listen to to inspire you.
Musicians are in-season all the time.
Some people start with the lyrics first because they know what they want to talk about and they just write a whole bunch of lyrical ideas, but for me the music tells me what to talk about.
To have the chance to see your music be elevated and to have almost universally positive response to that music, makes me feel better every day. I feel more confident and inspired, and that's fun.
Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop, gospel and R&B pretty well, and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three.
Everyone I know who'd been (there) said (South Africa) was beautiful, the people were beautiful, and it was a nice mixture of Africa and Western culture. I knew from friends that my music was popular (there), so I was excited to go.