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" I guess the bottom line is I don't make music that is consumed en masse. "
Kelela
Bottom
Line
Make
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" When it comes to melodies, production, and sound in pop music, people try to be formulaic and solely concerned with what's resonant in a way that is so cheap and ugly. It actually just devolves culture, ultimately. "
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" 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. "
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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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" I have something stupid, like, 12 credits, to graduate. "
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" 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. "
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" 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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" 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. "
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" I'd like to change what people expect. I want to evoke something that's not nameable, for people to go, 'Huh?' "
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" The goal is to blow the audience's mind. "
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" Growing up, Missy Elliot and Janet Jackson were definitely major references. "
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" The act of me just being robust in the world is so radical - it's so radical for a black woman to think she's going to be a star, because it takes so much to get there. It's still a battle every day, but I feel happy because I feel like I cracked the code and figured out how to work through it. Now I want to give the map to other women. "
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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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Voice
" 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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Band
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Play
" I'm quite scrutinous when it comes to who I put myself in the room with. "
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" I know deep down I'm a star. "
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Down
Deep Down
Know
" I would say there is a zone of R&B that hadn't been quite innovative. "
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" Self-care is a requirement. "
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" I'm just trying to soundtrack your real life. I'm just trying to give you a place to feel safe in all the parts of your experience. "
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" As much as we like to pretend we're just getting on stage and whatever, it's like, no, I practiced in front of the mirror my whole life. "
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Like
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" 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. "
Kelela
Trying
Two
Inside
" I'm definitely seeking to challenge tropes. "
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Challenge
Seeking
Definitely
" 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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" How much closer can I get to the common ear, the mainstream, and how much it can still be from this other world, this other place? That's the line I keep trying to tread but have my wings extend more on both sides. "
Kelela
Wings
Trying
Both Sides
" In the music industry, you can't create success without having to engage a white man. It's just not possible. Whether it's executives, A&Rs, and the people that hold the key to your paper, inevitably, you'll be met with whiteness. "
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Man
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Music
" We are - as artists, we are racialized through genre and called black - without being called black - through genre. "
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" 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. "
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Ideas
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" 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. "
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" 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
Obscure
Trying
" 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. "
Kelela
Politics
Moment
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