Fear is not a part of my vocabulary, actually.

When I first started getting into the business, a young woman in a music game that was mostly men, I did feel inadequate.

Stevie Wonder's records introduced me to '70s soul when I was 12 or 13.

You're at your most purest, most innocent, pure state when you're doing something you've never done before. You're scared a little, you're a little vulnerable, you're kind of trying, and then you're also better, because you're trying harder than you maybe would try.

I feel more like I'm a person who has so much to offer in different capacities that it would be a danger for me not to give myself a chance to spread my wings in all different directions.

The artists who have inspired me the most in my life are the ones who have really had something to say and stand up for. That, to me, is part of being an artist-having the voice to express things that need to be verbalized and brought to light. Unfortunately, I don't think that's a priority for people, because the few artists who do have the nerve to take a stand for what they believe get shut down in a way.

I grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood.