Be exactly who you are. You can fit in any space you see yourself in. Be fearless.
I wake up every day in a different headspace, so on any given day, my hairstyle will change.
You don't know how far you can go until you push it.
You don't need validation from other people. You've gotta find it within yourself and sit in it and roll with it.
Dreams rise like the sun and set like the sun: One minute, it is high and bright; the next minute, you might lose it.
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.
People want to peg you as alternative R&B when they hear soul or see the color of your skin. It's comfortable when people see artists of color or artists that come from a different country to put that brand on us. It's just not as linear as that.
I like being in charge. I like being able to control my own destiny and ideas.
'Armor On' explains why I needed armor in the first place. Sonically, you'll hear this battle of, 'I love you, no I don't. I love you, I hate you.' That's what you'll feel. You see the story kind of fight against itself.
I don't take myself too seriously.
I write for myself. It's therapy.
I think, my entire life, I was a bit different. And I didn't think I was different; I just kinda always stuck out.
Everyone who knows Puff knows Puff rolls with himself. His hustle is money. That's what he does.
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.
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.
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.'
There's definitely that tribal Africana thing going on in my sound. It's that marching band, second-line music, that Creole-influence in the kick, and the snare that drives everything for me. I think it's really what's separated my sound from a lot of the R&B and pop music out there.
I do not have a history in set design. I have a history in art. I draw. But I learned set design when I couldn't afford to have a team and I didn't want to look like I was indie. I wanted to give fans the visual.
My director, Monty Marsh, is really awesome - I've been working with him for years now.
'Goldenheart' is like a modern-day Joan of Arc. Think of it like medieval times-cum-2045 or Lancelot and Guinevere in 3025. It's a new version of these battles - age-old stories for the now.
