The blues are important primarily because they contain the cultural expression and the cultural response to blacks in America and to the situation that they find themselves in. And contained in the blues is a philosophical system at work. And as part of the oral tradition, this is a way of passing along information.

I cried a river of tears but he was too heavy to float on them. So I dragged him with me these years across an ocean.

I think that's the core of black aesthetics: the ability to improvise. That is what has enabled our [black people's] survival.

Freedom is heavy. You got to put your shoulder to freedom. Put your shoulder to it and hope your back holds up.

The simpler you say it, the more eloquent it is.

Style ain't nothing but keeping the same idea from beginning to end. Everybody got it.

What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?