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" I never called myself an urban artist, but that's what I was classed as, and I almost tried to live up to the name instead of who I really was. "

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" I think producing a record for other artists is almost like giving them advice, and I would say that it is easier to produce another artist than it is to produce yourself. "

" I'm a hundred percent a rock n' roll guy. "

" I'm all for trying anything once; otherwise, you end up like David Guetta - reproducing the same formula over and over. "

" It's a lot easier producing for people or being in the background, and they can take all the fire from the front. But in order to express the ideas that I have without any kind of contamination, I thought it would be a cool thing to be out front. "

" I think, as an artist, I wear a lot of different hats, and people have to join all of the dots. "

" I really enjoy 'festival life,' as it were, and I love the reactions when I bring out my guitar on stage. The crowd are always a bit like, 'What the hell is this urban guy doing with a guitar,' and that's what I love - the shock element of it all! "

" Branding your song is the worst thing you can ever do. That's turning your song into a product. "

" My mother brought up nine children, in Hackney, and none of us are criminals, none of us in jail. Her strength made me who I am today. "

" You can make what you want. People care about what the artist has to say, what the sound is, and how it affects them. "

" I remember my brother came home with a bass and played a blues solo on it. I just went insane for days afterwards learning that. "

" I've made so many changes to my records because of the way the audience has reacted at the various festivals I've played - I've taken tracks back into the studio, stripped them bare, and built them back up again to create something entirely different. "

" I've got perfectionist issues, as I can't seem to let tracks out the studio - it drives my manager nuts. "

" When I was younger, I'd be in the studio three days straight to get something right, and my manager would be like, 'Go home!' Even now, I still sleep in the studio sometimes, but I can't do it quite as often. I've got gigs; I can't have my hobo beard! But if you love what you're doing, you can't stop. It's obsessive. "

" My main thing is I just want to share as much hope and happiness as possible for music. If I can share as many moments and help people believe in themselves... if I can do that, then I'll feel like my job is done. "

" My grandad's a gospel singer, and his children were singers, too. But I don't believe in God in the same way... not religion; it breaks us up too much. The same with musical styles - it breaks people up. I believe they are all one thing - why not put them together? "

" I don't ever think it's a good idea to try to recreate the success you've had before; it's all about chasing something fresh and new. "

" I don't want to be someone that, when people look back, they think, 'Yeah, cool, he made us jump around for a bit in 2010.' "

" Urban is not actually my world. It was me trying something out, basically. I come from a gospel background. "

" Of course, success takes you where your character can't sustain you. "

" I'm a perfectionist, and to actually finish something is good for me. "

" When you make a record, I always imagine people dancing to it. If the chef thinks it tastes good, then there will be someone who ultimately believes the same thing. "

" You've got to live and die by your decisions. "

" I don't think about the success that I've had - I've had a lot of success with music - but I always look at it like it's a new day. "

" I actually tried to learn the dictionary at one point. It didn't work; I only got through the first few pages. "

" I try as much I can after every live performance to read all the comments my fans post on Facebook and Twitter, as this helps enormously for me to understand straight from fans what worked and what didn't. "

" I grew up not really having a father figure, and it didn't bother me, because he wasn't there in the first place. But then he started other families, and I was jealous. It was like he was happy without our family. "

" The first tour an artist does is a strange one... because you can never tell how the audience is going to react. "

" You get so close to your own music that you can't see the beauty in it. I had to learn to let go. It's good to be less precious. "

" My brothers came home with country, jazz, everything... it was always very normal to me to make any type of music. It was possible to fuse all the sounds, so it never sounded confusing to me to mix jazz and dubstep. "

" I got into music through just being inspired by my brother and sisters. They all sing, play instruments and write - and they're very good at it. "