I don't talk about Amy Winehouse as a 'singer.' She's a pioneer. I listened to her endlessly when I started writing.

I remember listening to Miles Davis in the car with my dad. I had just done my Grade 5 piano exam, and I was quite cocky. I said, 'It sounds like he's played the wrong note there.' I remember the look of horror on my dad's face, and thinking, 'Wow, I have to figure out why that is not acceptable.'

I like pastels and lighter shades on darker skins. I feel like it lifts everything and accentuates being chocolate.

London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school.

Who made you the center of the universe?

My parents encouraged us to commit to things, so if we wanted to learn an instrument, it was all the grades and all the theory.

My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining.