We are all one. We're not as separate as we oftentimes think.

I think you are who you are, and your kids will see who you are. So you'd better be a good person, because they are going to see it, and that's going to shape them. They are going to become you.

Many things inspire me. First and foremost, my family, my husband, and our son. I find that the love we share fills me up and makes me see and appreciate life in a different way.

If I want to be alone, some place I can write, I can read, I can pray, I can cry, I can do whatever I want - I go to the bathroom.

The smaller you strip things down, the more you depend on the songs and yourself, as opposed to arrangements.

You could have all the riches in the world, but it doesn't mean much without family.

My mixed-race background made me a broad person, able to relate to different cultures. But any woman of colour, even a mixed colour, is seen as black in America. So that's how I regard myself.