Nomi Ruiz Quotes

I've been performing live a long time, even before doing dance music clubs downtown. I used to watch clips of Beyoncé to learn how to perform in front of people. I got my jitters out in front of my friends.

I really got to fuse some of my hip hop & R&B background into the Jessica 6 album since I was really hands on with Morgan & Andrew while writing and producing the record.

I feel very strongly about letting people know I'm proud of who I am. I want people to know when they hear my songs it's coming from a specific place. The new record is specifically for us trans women: that we can sing about our pain, being ostracized by our lovers, who are ashamed of us in a way. There's no pop music like that for our community. I wanted to contribute in that way.

The White Horse video which was directed by Marco Ovando started off with a biker theme. Once Ava Sanjurjo came in as stylist along with Marco & I it really took it's own shape. It was all very improvised but wound up paying homage to NY and night life. People say it reminds them of a Guess ad which I love!

I love to dance to Robyn, Nicki Minaj and Boney M.

There are definitely many adventures on the road with Jessica 6. It sometimes feels like we're in a movie. I was recently kidnapped by 2 taxi drivers in Moscow. They drove me over 2 hours out of town till I started to cry then they drove me 3 more hours finally to my hotel!

People expect us to be a straight up dance band but there are many more elements to our sound that you really get to see during our live show and hear on our record 'See The Light.'

The word C.R.E.A.M. - which stands for "Cash Rules Everything Around Me" - is from Wu Tang Clan. This song is about a prostitute who falls in love with her client, who winds up being a drug girl in New York. It's an ode to the girl who works in the streets; it gives her a face and a name and a story. I used to go and admire those girls. I was inspired by their bravery and their femininity, and how they were just putting themselves out there. It was intense to see. It's strange, but they kind of inspired me in a way. I felt it was so bold.

I'd feel more of the pressures of daily life, obsessed about finding a job or love. Maybe I've taken these things for granted. I go through a lot of other things in the music industry, but "daily life" is a whole different war to fight.

New York is very intense. Every time I go back to New York, I'm starting from scratch. You could have all these achievements - records, a tour - and then you get home and get back to the basics. It whips you into shape.

I think love is important, and loving yourself and being happy and feeling you're worthy of happiness as an individual. One of the most important things is to have the courage to love yourself and share that with the world.

The Fun Girl video which was directed by Bijoux Altamarino really came out of her vision. I feel she understood the mystery, danger and power of the song and It really came through in the end.

I get to play with pop music and mix up the style. It's fun to play with party music and nice to get into the club. My big love is songwriting. I write the lyrics and the vocals, and I work with the producers.

I grew up on rap and hip-hop and fell into dance music. Hip-hop died down, and I moved more into dance music, disco and house. It feels very natural. My rhythm growing up on hip-hop and R&B was cool, fresh, and I feel comfortable with it.

I have tried to fight the love thing. It's a losing battle.

I realize that if I were in that situation - living a hard life with people telling them they're not worthy of love - maybe I would be that strong and that brave.

It's different everywhere you go. I'm lucky I'm drawn into people who love and support me. I'm sheltered from that life. I see how all over the world there's so much oppression and pain. I'm living in a bubble.