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" I do like things the way that I like them. But I'm trying not to be - I don't wanna be that way. I'm not a control freak; I wanna protect my agency. It's a weird question as a black woman. "

Kelela

Black

Control

Trying

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" I like smart rappers who aren't necessarily trying to be deeper than you, like Danny Brown. "

Kelela

Trying

Smart

" 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. "

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

" I was in school studying International Studies and Sociology. I was really into what was going on in school. I was affected by the ideas and engaged as a student, but not disciplined or motivated enough to do the work. That was a fear of mine for a while, that nothing was motivating. "

" When I started making songs, some of them read as mixtape-y, and some of them read as album-y. "

" I'm quite scrutinous when it comes to who I put myself in the room with. "

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

" When I was little, my parents would have these gatherings, and it was a common thing for me and my cousins to have to put on, like, shows. "

" 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

" I don't write lyrics. I hear the track and sing in gibberish over it, then I try and fit words into the phrasing and melody that I already have set. Everything is left to chance. "

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

" That's pretty much how every song of mine works - I start with gibberish and melody and phrasing. I speak it naturally first. And then I think about lyrics that fit into that. "

" I would love to do an album of standards! "

" I am not carefree. I'm just not. I experience an immense amount of joy, a crazy amount of joy through sadness and so much struggle. There's something problematic about 'carefree black girl.' "

" 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. "

" I'm definitely seeking to challenge tropes. "

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

Kelela

Good

Different

" I'm pushing back against the white, misogynistic, heterosexual establishment in the music industry. Like, literally, in all its forms. "

Kelela

Against

Music

" 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. "

" Growing up in an Ethiopian household allowed me to feel like I had an audience before I had an audience. "

Kelela

Feel

Growing Up

" 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. "

" Often, I write to feel better and to heal - to cope with things that I'm dealing with. I'm either writing to get out of a feeling or to get into the feeling, to feel it more. Usually it's the perfect remedy, but if it isn't, I focus on other parts of what I'm making that don't involve writing. If neither are working, I simply forfeit the day. "

" I really do like Solange, sincerely. I'm down for her, and I trust her judgment. "

" The most rewarding thing for someone like me is for someone else to find solace through my music. "

Kelela

Someone

Through

" I want to speak in the tradition of rhythm and blues and soul music, but also push how it's dressed and how it's delivered to the audience. And hopefully that gets embraced by as many people as possible, but the goal isn't necessarily to speak to everyone. The goal is to get it out as exact as it is in my head. "

" The assumption is simply that I hit on all the things I've hit on so far by accident, that my talent is just this raw thing that pours out of me, and then white people feel like they have to come in and contain it, refine it, and bring it to the place where it can been released. "

" I guess the bottom line is I don't make music that is consumed en masse. "

" In Maryland, I didn't grow up around poor white people. Where I grew up, the white people were middle class or upper-middle class. It's interesting how screwed up it is in reality, because most people who receive assistance from the government are white, but not in my head or in my experience. "

" 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. "

" Most of my friends, growing up, were upper-middle-class white kids, so it was a different reality at home both culturally and linguistically. It created a lot of insecurities for me, but it also did a lot of amazing things that I didn't know were happening at the time. "