I'd like to think that when I sing a song, I can let you know all about the heartbreak, struggle, lies and kicks in the ass I've gotten over the years for being black and everything else, without actually saying a word about it.

Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.

Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.

There's such a thing as too much happiness and sadness. What I'm after is contentment.

Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me.

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to hear.