Being black, I'm involved in the reparations movement. It's focused toward the African-American audience. We could begin to heal.

I was never interested in singing in the church or school. I was more interested in becoming a musician.

My grandmother sang, too, and she was really loud. It was this wild kind of singing. I count her among my influences.

I cringed when I heard myself described as a Jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a Jazz vocalist.

I know you're supposed to set goals for yourself. I see all that motivational stuff on television. Think about the future, what's next! But I'm all into the journey. It's fascinating to me. So if I make certain what I want moment to moment, I'm cool at the crossroads.

I'm always looking for ways to develop as a Jazz artist, to find different ways of using my voice.

Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.