You are damned and praised, or encouraged or discouraged by those who listen to you, and those who come to applaud you. And to me, those people are very important.

I have one thing in common with the emerging black nations of Africa: We both have voices, and we are discovering what we can do with them.

Girls are the future mothers of our society, and it is important that we focus on their well-being.

I'm not a politician; I am a singer. Long ago, they said, 'That one, she sings politics.' I don't sing politics; I merely sing the truth.

If given a choice, I would have certainly selected to be what I am: one of the oppressed instead of one of the oppressors.

The conqueror writes history, they came, they conquered and they write. You don't expect the people who came to invade us to tell the truth about us.

I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realising.