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" More and more people are finally realizing that in the heart of America, there's all this incredible music that wasn't widely heard before because it wasn't in the interest of those who feel they have to control the taste of the wider public. "

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" In looking out into the world, it didn't look all that nice out there. And who were the nice people? Certainly Mahatma Gandhi was. "

Taj Mahal

World

Look

Looking

" Very old music is, like, 11th century in my mind. That's very old. "

" I'm doing exactly what I should be doing, every day on the road. "

" What you have to understand is that blues... it's in a line from the oldest forms of African music. If you're playing it like it's an echo of the past, it would be a lot less exciting, but this music lives today. "

" I wanted to keep pushing the musical ideas I had about jazz, music from Africa and the Caribbean. "

" I don't need the credits for playing the blues and paying the dues. I've already done it. There are some other things to do here - movies and scores and voice-overs. "

" I don't care if it's somebody else's song. Most of the time, you'll find that I'll put my own stamp on it. But I started writing more because, you know, it's easy to regurgitate what somebody else is doing, but it's exciting to be able to come up with your own writing. "

" I was always looking for evidence of these common musical roots, but I was too young to know that what I was doing was called ethnomusicology. "

" As a youngster, my parents made me aware that all that was from the African Diaspora belonged to me. So I came in with Caribbean music, African music, Latin music, gospel music and blues. "

Taj Mahal

Parents

Caribbean

" I was always taught that Latin, Caribbean people were cousins to me, as well as blues was a cousin to me, as well as Africans were direct relatives to me. It was all a part of my language. "

Taj Mahal

Language

People

" It's very interesting, the dynamics of popularity. When you do something all the time, you don't worry about whether it's trendy or not. "

" My music is really fun music, with some pan-African and pan-American influences. "

" My parents grew up during the Harlem renaissance. "

Taj Mahal

Parents

Grew

" I'm old enough to chew my peas and corn without choking. "

" As a solo performer, it's total involvement. What I do is to break down the wall between audience and performer. "

" I haven't worn one for a long time, but I look pretty good in a suit. "

" I enjoy music wherever it's coming from. "

" The one thing I've always demanded of the records I've made is that they be danceable. "

" I've got tons more stuff to do. "

Taj Mahal

Tons

Stuff

" If what you're talking about is seeing someone perform, then I'll have to say that in the rhythm-and-blues side of things, seein' Otis Redding live was it, you know? "

" I'm perceived as someone who goes out and searches for new music, but it was all present in my household. "

" It's just like heirloom tomatoes; this is heirloom music. We used to have all kinds of diversity in our poultry, in our vegetables, in our fruits, and slowly but surely the monoculture beast comes in. I'm saying that's not a good idea. And if it means that I gotta do it on my own, then I do it on my own. "

" The song of the blues, the song of the music, was something a lot of people missed out on. They thought they had to swagger a certain way or bark at the mic, and you don't have to do that. "

" My grandmother had many children. She lost most. So when we came along, we were really special. I was the first grandchild that could see her spirit moving to a new generation. "

" My grandparents on my father's side came to this country from the Caribbean with a strong connection to Africa and no shame about it. "

" When I was a kid, there was so much talent outside of recorded music. "

" I just worked my own personal thoughts into my music, and just kept at it until I found a way in. "

" My mother was American, and my father was from the Caribbean, and there was a big open door into the world of humanity and music. "

" What the future of the planet and music and art and all of it is sharing; it's diversity. "

" I base myself in African-derived music. Blues is one of the modern forms of African music. "