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" When I was 4, I had a schedule. I was playing softball. My brother was playing football. My parents were teachers, and they'd owned businesses. We like to work hard. Work and then books. Books and then work. We just knew that we had to excel. It sounds militant, but trust me, it was fun. "

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" My dad was a teacher. He has a Masters in music. He taught elementary school, and he played gigs his whole life, and we lived good. "

Dawn Richard

Teacher

Music

" When my dad went to college to get his master's from Loyola, he was playing Debussy and Chopin and Beethoven. But he played all that New Orleans stuff, too. I would go with my dad to gigs, pick up the piano and the speakers, and I would be like his roadie. "

Dawn Richard

Master

College

" I always treat shows as though they could belong on either platform. I always design it for the bigger stage, but I love it on the smaller stage. "

" I wake up every day in a different headspace, so on any given day, my hairstyle will change. "

" I've had two platinum albums. I have worked with thousands of people. But the most rewarding feeling is to see people on Twitter say, 'Do you see what Dawn and them are doing? They are number one.' It's the most rewarding feeling because of all the tears, all the bad stuff, and the people that said I couldn't do it. "

" I lived in the library with my grandmother as a child. I still love the smell of books; the library card is still my friend. "

" I write for myself. It's therapy. "

" When you see what you really are, good or bad, there is a fearlessness to understanding your purpose. "

" I connect so much with Peter Gabriel's sound because, to me, he always had that South African vibe. His drums were always something to move to: it was almost like Calypso. I'm a big fan. "

Dawn Richard

Move

Big

" Songwriting was my own journey. I never fit in with structure in songwriting. "

" I like being in charge. I like being able to control my own destiny and ideas. "

" I believe I am standing firm as a black woman in this industry in a time that it is hard as an artist period. "

" I always knew who I was, but everyone else wanted to me to be their 'idea' of the 'right' artist. At times, I even believed them. "

Dawn Richard

Right

Always

" I'm big on showing people versatility. I'm constantly trying to push myself to break barriers and the idea that we have to stay in one lane. "

" 'The Red Era' is for everybody. Every gay, every fluid, every black, every white. "

" There is a thing about women that needs to be understood. We don't sit well with being put in a certain place. "

" There's always going to be a fight between mainstream and underground because the mainstream is a very small bubble, and the underground scene is a very small bubble, and they both see themselves as secret societies. But I never saw it that way. I always thought music was open to all things. "

" I've grown so much in the music industry. From 'GoldenHeart,' it was just about me and the music and me in this dream. With 'BlackHeart,' its more about me and who I am and what role I play in my own life and in the business. "

Dawn Richard

Music

Life

" When I get inspired, I give out free music. If you look at my track record from the beginning, that's always what I've done. I've never changed. "

" The problem with Danity Kane is everybody wanted to play everybody's role, and when you're in a group like that, that can't survive. "

" My director, Monty Marsh, is really awesome - I've been working with him for years now. "

" 'Redemption' sounds like a jubilee. Like a second line, if you will. "

Dawn Richard

Line

Redemption

" I just want to be a storyteller, and I think the way to do that is by your lyrics, by your visuals, by your choreography, by your dance. It's imperative as an artist. "

" I come from an era where lyrics were full of imagery and metaphor, and that's all I know. I think people miss that. "

" Originally, I was set on going to Hawaii Pacific University. We visited the campus in Hawaii. I was gonna be a Rainbow Warrior. I was gonna play softball. I was gonna major in marine biology. Everything was set. Then my dad was like, 'So you're not gonna do music? If you do go to Hawaii, there's no studios there, baby girl.' "

" I'm not mainstream. You gotta find me. "

Dawn Richard

You

Mainstream

" I don't wish homelessness on anyone, especially when you come from where your parents work hard. "

" I wanted to make an album that sounded like a release of inhibitions, really getting away from the idea that you have to be anything other than in that moment. "

" I got in the audition line called 'Making the Band' because I wanted to be in a band. If I didn't, I would have done 'American Idol.' "

" R&B needs to see a new light. It doesn't have to be pigeonholed. "