People don't really understand who I am. They always think that I'm very dark or depressed, but it couldn't be further from the truth!

There can only be one Queen Bey.

I try to create songs that are really massive and intense, but at the same time remaining honest and raw.

No matter what you do, if there's something you're afraid of, you need to break through it.

As a child, I was always making sound; it was a compulsion. I loved to scream and yell and sing; it freed me from all the thoughts in my head. I begged for opera lessons because opera singing is the most formidable, most emotional way to use your voice.

I started performing opera when I was 10 years old. I didn't perform as Zola Jesus until I was probably 18.

It sounds kind of stupid, but I've never not wanted to be a musician. It's been inside me since I was little so I don't know what else I would do.