I had to run away from home in order to be a musician. Because I came from a family of... my father was a health inspector; my mother was a social worker. And I was pretty smart in school. So they expected me to be some kind of academic - schoolteacher, or doctor, lawyer - and they were very disappointed when I told them I wanted to be a musician.

I always make the joke that I go home, to one of my homes, to go and do laundry so I can go on the road again.

It's obvious that the rest of the world loves high African culture - African culture, period.

I'm travelling more than ever. I don't have the answer as to why, but the demand seems to have grown as I've got older.

In my view, Africa's real problems are cultural.

I just came from South Africa, a place that had been in a perpetual uprising since 1653, so the uprising had become a way of life in our culture and we grew up with rallies and strikes and marches and boycotts.

I don't think any musician ever thinks about making a statement. I think everybody goes into music loving it.