My songwriting and my style became more complex as I listened, learned, borrowed and stole and put my music together.
My earliest influences were things I heard in my household.
The short answer is, yes, I think I have become a better singer.
I'm easily distracted by other things in the world around me.
Quite frankly, I've always listened to the black side of the radio dial. Where I grew up, there was a lot of it and there was a lot of live music around.
I think the women - Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu - are doing new conceptual things and using their voices to create new American music.