When I am willing, all sound is available to me.

Like any art, the creation of self is both natural and seemingly impossible. It requires training as well as magic.

My creativity and my political work are linked. I don't do this work out of guilt or out of responsibility.

Part of being an artist is being willing to be shocked, being willing to be surprised, being willing to be hurt.

Poverty without a people's government looks like hopelessness, but to see poverty in organized communities is to see relief-in-progress.

The greatest warriors are the ones who fight for peace.

My voice is my instrument. ... It is not in the throat, from where it appears to come. It is in my feet and how they touch the floor, in my legs and how they lift and sink with the rhythm of the song. It is in my hips and belly and lower back.