I loved the Woody Guthrie tradition of speaking about what's happening to the country.
I've always covered some Dylan songs. I do one or two. And I do them because they're great songs. You know some people cover songs they wish they could have written, not me. I like to cover songs I know I could not have ever written.
Whenever I speak, I talk to the collective consciousness of my audience.
You can't get around certain stuff, whether it's in Darfur or on your block at home. What makes us political is your home turf, your family, your life space. You walk down the street, and automatically a human being is territorial, and political happens in that.
I don't necessarily want a higher education, I want a wider education. I want to know everything and experience everything.
There are no guarantees in the music field. There's a lot of rejection, a lot of criticism and a lot of disappointment. You have to be prepared for that. And after 1973, it just wasn't happening for me.
Education, information and knowledge are all one.
I renovate homes and buildings and residences in Detroit.
There are beautiful songs people write about love and dancing. But it's political issues that should be addressed.
Every 20 years or so, I feel that young people confront the same issues - a new war, new challenges.