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" I don't care about the underground, even if that's where I'm currently residing sonically. "
Kelela
Underground
Where
Even
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" When I started making songs, some of them read as mixtape-y, and some of them read as album-y. "
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" To me, the best writing points to something literal or common but is also nuanced: The moment when somebody is telling you they love you while simultaneously disappointing you. Everybody's experienced that. "
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" 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. "
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" My music sounds like one synergised thing, one message. "
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" Growing up, Missy Elliot and Janet Jackson were definitely major references. "
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" 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. "
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" For those of us who make music together, I think it's important to realize that generosity on both sides is actually going to produce the biggest possibility. "
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" I think my worst enemy was myself. It's like I've been in my own way more than anybody else has been. "
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" Growing up in an Ethiopian household allowed me to feel like I had an audience before I had an audience. "
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" I really do like Solange, sincerely. I'm down for her, and I trust her judgment. "
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" Popular music was this abstraction - an abstraction that I was relating to immensely but was ultimately far away. "
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Popular
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" Sometimes I learn by someone giving me warnings and giving me advice about what to do next. And other times, a lot of times, I have to put my hand into the fire. "
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" 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.' "
Kelela
Lady
Working
Try
" I would say Tracy Chapman was the first time I obsessed over an entire record. I knew every song; I knew the exact amount of seconds between each song. That's the level of obsession that I had. "
Kelela
Time
First Time
Obsession
" 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. "
Kelela
Put
Cousins
Parents
" I just want to shed light, illuminate and turn the spotlight over to all of the black people who have been being futuristic and innovative since instruments were plugged into a wall. With computers, machines, and music, black people have been contributing to that a great deal for a long time. "
Kelela
Time
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" It's been hard for me to nail visual language and personal style because I like so many different things. "
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" It definitely feels different to perform to people who know your music. Because people's feedback is not just, 'Oh my God, that was amazing. Who are you?' "
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" There's definitely a push and a pull to 'legitimize' electronic music live by playing the same way that a band would play. "
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" I remember the day I first heard what Timbaland and Aaliyah did - that intersection of her pretty voice and his weird, resonant production. I remember where I was and what I was doing. It was a major situation. We're trying to continue that legacy. "
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Her
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" As it pertains to my black womanhood, there's just a lot of ground to cover. There's a lot of stuff to say. "
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Lot
" We don't want it to be obscure music. We're not trying to be indie. We want to be popular. "
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Popular
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Trying
" 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. "
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World
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" 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. "
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Day
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Good
" 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. "
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Talk
" I know deep down I'm a star. "
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Down
Deep Down
Know
" 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. "
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World
Black
Women
" I think I'm taking risks and putting myself out there. "
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Out
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" I've talked about that with friends, about what genre makes sense to choose for each record and the strategy around that... Sometimes it's more about the moment of time, and other times it's more about the sound of the song. Sometimes it's about what's going on in larger life, in politics. "
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Politics
Moment
Life
" I've grown up feeling very American but being constantly bothered by people - there's internalized racism and feeling weird about being second-generation. "
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American
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People