Nineteen was the first time I really had a real relationship, really fell in love, really had my heart broken, really broke her heart, and sex meant something a little bit different.
My aunt, Rosie Gaines, sung with Prince - 'Diamonds and Pearls.' And at the time, I didn't realize how big of a song that was. I just thought, 'Oh, that's my auntie singing with Prince. That's cool.'
For my first album, I thought it was most important for people to hear my voice and to not let it be drowned out by too many lasers and other sounds.
There are so many forms of soul: David Bowie was soulful as hell; Johnny Cash was soulful as hell; you also have a Prince, a Stevie Wonder. I want to bring my perception of that and not live inside the box of, 'This is the type of tracks you get,' 'This is the type of drums you get.'
My dad and mom used to always say, 'Write your vision down. Write the things that you want to happen.' I would write, 'I want to make soul cool.'
When I got in trouble, my mom would make me read or write - I would have to write my name over and over and over again. It gave me great penmanship, but I also just liked to write. Every time I would go to the store, I would buy a notebook. I had thousands of them.
I listened to a lot of reggae music, a lot of Caribbean, a lot of gospel, a lot of rock, a lot of country, hip-hop... you know, so it just gave me perspective when it came to music and what I liked.
Oh, I ain't vegan, I'm good. I eat. I eat everything. Except pork, you know, I try to stay away. I like me some bacon, though!
My first song was called 'Portrait.' It would just be poetry, and I really never understood how to write the structure of writing a song. I just knew the feeling, and I knew it was supposed to break and change at the same part, so that's how I write music.
For me, my father was a pastor, and my parents are still together. They raised me, you know, to be respectful.
My dad... was in the military, a drill sergeant, when he was a preacher. You know how some Christians really get into church and become very radical? Imagine him as a radical and a drill sergeant. It was intense.
You have to definitely be yourself in order to stand out.
My dad got into this group, Commission, with Fred Hammond, and that was my biggest gospel memory. I would hear that all the time, and listening to their voices helped me develop my voice because I would try to emulate them as a kid. It taught me tone, and it gave me a balance.
I don't try to worry about sounding like anybody because I know I have my own tone, my own sound. It's just about being honest in a song and trying to relate myself or how to basically break it down as simple as possible for someone to try to understand it. Not being too deep, not being too shallow at the same time.
I've been invited to the Grammys with other friends who were nominated. I'm like, 'Naw, I'm not gonna go until it's my time.' And who knew it was gonna be, like, the next year? It's crazy.
I was shy: I sang at home but not in public. My dad's side of the family sang, so I would hear their voices and think mine couldn't compare.
I feel like Prince's artistry inspired me as far as staying true to myself and my artistry and what is important to me in my life and applying, you know, all the things that I ever been through into my music, the same way he kinda did in 'Purple Rain.'
I got into Shakespeare and all of that stuff in high school and then got out of it because it got too complicated. But all of those things just helped me to put words together. It gave me a different perspective.
I would sing at home. I would sing in the car with my dad, but whenever he tried to make me sing in church, I was like, 'Nah, I'm not doing that.' I didn't want to sing in front of all these people.
The music that we listen to these days, everything is right there in your face. There's no real mystery. It's not poetic. I want people to think. I want to make people listen to my lyrics.
