The only thing an artist is useful for, and the only reason why we don't just line 'em up against the wall and shoot them, is because, at their best, they're the reflection of our lives, that most regular people can't even afford to think about.
El-PAt a young age, I really wanted to make music and make my own sort of thing. I'm sure if it wasn't music, it would have been writing, or it would have been maybe painting. I just always had the drive to try and make something with my hands and to just pull something out of myself and shape it and see it in front of me, if that makes any sense.
El-PIf you are a good writer you use your life experience to do something different than someone who is 20-years-old can do. That is where you get your power. That is our power as a group. I am not trying to make the same music I made 10 years ago.
El-PI think Trump is indicative of a larger problem. It existed way before him, it is our generation's issue that all over the world people are and have been suffering from despotic power figures who want nothing more to control than help the people they claim to represent. The difference being is a lot of people had not been paying much attention prior because it wasn't directly impacting them.
El-PPeople are very afraid. In my country, you had a corrupt party who sabotaged an amazing candidate Bernie Sanders who was stronger than the other. Had Sanders faced Trump even more young people - from black millennials to the gay and lesbian community - would have voted because he represented them at his core. Fear drove the American vote, because if you're choosing from two devils like Hillary and Trump then you're more likely to end up picking the one who is cooler and makes you laugh.
El-P