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" At the end of the day, I would like to have the farthest reach in terms of being able to communicate to as many people as possible. So it's not that I enjoy being obscure; it's that I sonically don't want to be situated here or there. "

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" Anyone who understands anti-racist work, a white person specifically, understands that it is not black people's responsibility, or any person of color's responsibility, to dismantle the structures that keep white people in positions of power. We do our job to thrive, to survive. To protect ourselves, to sit together and feel better and to heal. "

Kelela

People

Job

Responsibility

" I think the Internet is more layered and complex than just hating it or liking it. I find it to be more purposeful to talk about the way that it's conducive for relationships and making connections. "

" I don't want you to feel defeated, like, 'Oh boy, why do you do this to me?' We have too many of those songs. "

" After it became clear that I was not going to graduate, I had this moment where I was like, 'I need to not sulk. I need to pursue - at least try - to pursue music. But if I don't try, I'm going to be a really bitter middle-aged lady working in a cubicle.' "

" Before I collaborate, it's important that I have a conversation about what I care about before we make anything, so that it's very clear. "

" I'm finding out what part of punk culture or white indie culture I actually still want to hold onto - What are the values? What are the contributions that I actually like? - and it not coming from a place of desperation or wanting to be embraced or wanting approval, essentially. "

" My queer black women peers are the ones who make me not feel crazy. The way we act is so instinctive. "

" Innovating something that is familiar. That's the general approach, and that's what I want to do with the melody as well. It should ring true - you should like every melody sequence without knowing what's happening next. "

" A lot of white men in the music industry are promoting and participating in black culture in a way that is pretty careless. They want the currency of blackness, but they don't want the brunt that comes along with that. "

" I'm just tryna be honest about all the things that I dig in my music. It's not just this over here, it's also that over there. "

" It's such a challenging time, and in my small way, I will make it so that other younger women, and maybe older women, will be able to do the things they want to do, and accept themselves and their experience. "

Kelela

Small

Time

" The whole thing about 'progressive R&B' blows my mind. Black music has always been progressive. "

" I'm very into familiar things, popular things. I'm into things that no one seems to know about or be into. I'm trying to draw a line between those two things and make it clear... that it all makes sense to me. That it's not disparate. That it's all one thing inside me. "

" Something that I think extends to a lot of African cultures is that the line between performer and audience is blurry. My mom would lead the wedding song regularly, and she isn't a professional singer. Even as an audience member, you're expected to clap and sing the response to the lead. "

" I know deep down I'm a star. "

" Even on my most angry song, I'm also still saying, 'Thank you for helping me to learn.' I've always wanted to give voice to that complexity in our experience. "

Kelela

Saying

Experience

" Most artists are going into the studio for a fixed period of time, and they say that's their album. I can't relate, because I've never made music in that way. I come from a culture of editing and remixing. "

" When I was growing up... I'm not going to say I listened to everything, but when it comes to vocals, I was really adamant about imitating all kinds of voices. "

Kelela

Growing

Everything

" I'm coming from the zone of Faith Evans, but with weird production. "

" I like to try out different methods to get to good songs. "

Kelela

Good

Different

" I am your homegirl, at the end of the day, but I also feel very... outside. So if you're finding solace in feeling outside with me, then we're good to go. "

" Popular music was this abstraction - an abstraction that I was relating to immensely but was ultimately far away. "

" I want to soundtrack people's layered feelings. "

" I've grown up feeling very American but being constantly bothered by people - there's internalized racism and feeling weird about being second-generation. "

" There are no black women geniuses that are being named in canons. I could name a bunch, but it's not part of common knowledge. It's not how the world is taught to think about black women. "

" You can never have enough reinforcements, resources for black women to thrive in the world. The topic has been addressed a million times before, but it will never end because what we're up against keeps morphing, and we have to figure out how to beat it. "

" There's definitely a push and a pull to 'legitimize' electronic music live by playing the same way that a band would play. "

" I have something stupid, like, 12 credits, to graduate. "

Kelela

Stupid

Something

" There is this feeling among black artists that you have to be really careful. We're not inclined to talk about this stuff because, if we do, we put ourselves in a position where we're not marketable or where we can't win. "

" I'd like to change what people expect. I want to evoke something that's not nameable, for people to go, 'Huh?' "

Kelela

Change

Expect