Mayer Hawthorne Quotes

I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.

Even when I was a hip-hop DJ I always kept it classy. The motto is always 'flashy but classy.' You've got to be original and stand out from the crowd and take some chances. But you've always got to keep it classy.

I DJ all the time, as much as I possibly can. I'll never stop. That's my security blanket, that's what I'm good at. I still consider myself a better DJ than a singer. I can DJ in my sleep.

James Brown is the perfect example of flashy but classy. Classy doesn't have to mean boring. His gear was flamboyant but without being so over the top. The cape was probably the biggest part of his persona. He looked like Superman.

That's one of the most important things to me is that Detroit and Ann Arbor got my back. If you don't have hometown love, then what's the point?

Drums, bass, guitar, keys, I play a little of each of those.

I just want to have fun and party with everyone around the world. That's the only rule, to have fun.

I was really fortunate growing up to have a broad musical education. My parents listened to all kinds of music, rock, soul, Motown, jazz, Frank Sinatra, everything.

Barry White is my musical hero. He was the guy who you danced to in the club and then when you took your lady home to the bedroom, you listened to him there, too! That's who I always wanted to be - the guy who was always there.

A big part of the Motown formula was, they took music and turned it into this sort of automotive assembly line. They were cranking out 10 songs a day in that studio, or more.

My dad calls me 'Mac' a lot, from 'Mike Tyson's Punch Out' - Little Mac is the main character. I was obsessed. I can still beat Mike Tyson on 'Punch Out.'

Hip-hop was my first real love, one that was my own and wasn't my parents' music. Initially, I was inspired by hip-hop fashion. Over the years, I kept the hip-hop sensibility, but make it my own.

I don't want kids listening to my music thinking it's for their parents. I want them to feel it's theirs.

Having stuff that fits you perfectly makes the craziest difference. I remember the first times that I was introduced to that - having a shirt that's actually tailored to your body and not just made for your average American. It just changes your life.

Gary Numan had a huge influence on both my music and my style. He had his own unique fashion sense - that futuristic space style. It was out there.

I was a hip-hop head. When I really found my own lane in music, it was hip-hop. I wanted to make hip-hop music. And I did, I made a lot of hip-hop music.

I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.

I just want to make music as long as I can and reach as many people as I can.

I think that Detroiters are some of the most resilient people in the world.

A lot of people think I live in a soul bubble.

I grew up in Ann Arbor, about 25 miles west of Detroit. And when you grow up in that area, you get a healthy dose of Motown automatically.

I grew up in the '80s and '90s listening to Public Enemy and Mobb Deep and the Smashing Pumpkins. I don't even know what it was like in the '60s - I wasn't alive then - so the Mayer Hawthorne sound is taking what I can learn from the classics, and blending it with my hip-hop DJ and producer background and punk-rock bands that I played in as a kid.

I make soul music for hip-hop heads. It's music I'd want to sample if I were a rapper.

My intentions with any of my music is to keep it futuristic and updated and be experimental and try new things.

I don't think I've ever had more fun doing anything in my life than trading verses with Daryl Hall on 'Private Eyes.' That's as fun as it gets.

I never have, but I would love to pick R. Kelly's brain.

Marvin Gaye was the ultimate ladies' man and a big part of that was the way he dressed. If you're having trouble getting ladies, step your suit game up and see the difference. Walk into a bar in a tailored suit and I guarantee every girl will check you out.

I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.

I didn't appreciate Mick Jagger until I got older, and mainly because of the Mick Jagger swagger. He defined that for the world. He was bold and adventurous with it, too - just the ultimate rock star.

I love doing things that people don't expect.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I definitely have a hearty breakfast before I do anything.

My grandma Ricky - that's where I got classic look from. She was the most stylish person ever. She had her own clothing store and even her furniture was stylish. I got my "Flashy, but classy" motto from her, too. Whenever she walked in the room, she was always the most stylish person in the room.

I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J - I'm a hip-hop encyclopedia. But I got kind of frustrated with the chauvinistic side of rap music, the one that makes it hard to write songs about love and relationships.

I consider myself to have a decent sense of humor. What's life without a sense of humor?

I try to make sure that I make music that can stand the test of time.

Nowhere on earth has more soul than Detroit.

I'm trying to just drop so much music that people cannot ignore it.