I think that it can be said of a lot of artists, and myself included, that we made the same record over and over from the beginning.

My parents were music lovers and collectors. It was around.

My first love was the sound of guitar.

A lot of what I have always done is do other singers.

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.

I am not a jazz singer. I wouldn't place myself on that footing. I wouldn't even enter that arena.

I think that it can be said of a lot of artists, and myself included, that we made the same record over and over from the beginning.