Rokia Traore Quotations

The most important thing is to be happy myself with what I am doing.

Of course I am stressed after I finish working on an album about what an audience will think, if it will be successful or not.

I can introduce new parts because when you are on stage in front of a very happy audience or people who love what you are doing, you are able to do extraordinary things that you yourself didn't think you could do before.

At the beginning of the tour, I arrange the live show exactly like the album, but of course from one audience to another, from one venue to another, it can become longer.

It's a great experience just to understand that finally being well known is not the most important thing.

You can be a star here in Europe and not be known at all in the United States.

American audiences don't react in the same way as European ones to African music because, I think, Europeans listen to this music through all the festivals that exist here.

The audiences are really different in general. Even in the same country or in the same city, from one venue to another, the audiences can be totally different.

For me, each time I'm on stage, each time I'm working on a new album, it's like a dream. I can't believe it's happening.

I used to play guitar for myself and write lyrics and listen to different styles of music.