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Kelela Quotes
Kelela Quotes
Kelela
American
Musician
Born:
Jun 6
,
1983
Black
Like
Me
Music
People
You
Related authors:
Bob Dylan
Dolly Parton
Frank Sinatra
Juice Wrld
Kanye West
Lil Peep
Nipsey Hussle
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
The most rewarding thing for someone like me is for someone else to find solace through my music.
Kelela
Music
Me
Else
Solace
Find
Someone
Through
Like
Most
Rewarding
Thing
I'm very into familiar things, popular things. I'm into things that no one seems to know about or be into. I'm trying to draw a line between those two things and make it clear... that it all makes sense to me. That it's not disparate. That it's all one thing inside me.
Kelela
Me
Sense
Draw
Those
One Thing
Inside
About
Seems
No-One
Clear
Between
Know
Make
Makes
Line
Very
Familiar
Familiar Things
Trying
Disparate
Popular
Thing
Things
Two
How much closer can I get to the common ear, the mainstream, and how much it can still be from this other world, this other place? That's the line I keep trying to tread but have my wings extend more on both sides.
Kelela
World
Other
Sides
More
Wings
Both
Both Sides
Mainstream
How
Still
How Much
Line
Get
Trying
Closer
Common
Place
Much
Keep
Extend
Tread
Ear
I'm definitely seeking to challenge tropes.
Kelela
Challenge
Definitely
Seeking
I'd like to change what people expect. I want to evoke something that's not nameable, for people to go, 'Huh?'
Kelela
Change
People
Evoke
Something
Like
Go
Expect
Huh
Want
The whole thing about 'progressive R&B' blows my mind. Black music has always been progressive.
Kelela
Music
Mind
Black
Progressive
Black Music
About
Always
Been
Blows
Whole
Thing
Fog and one blue light is all I need in life at the club. Just a dark room and loud music. I'm into that.
Kelela
Life
Music
Dark
Light
Fog
Club
Loud
Blue
Just
Room
Need
I am not carefree. I'm just not. I experience an immense amount of joy, a crazy amount of joy through sadness and so much struggle. There's something problematic about 'carefree black girl.'
Kelela
Crazy
Struggle
Experience
Joy
Sadness
Black
Girl
Immense
About
Something
Through
Am
Just
Problematic
Much
Amount
Carefree
Self-care is a requirement.
Kelela
Requirement
When I called 'Cut 4 Me' a mixtape, I was thinking about a few elements: One is used instrumentals. The project is more centered around introducing you to an artist; it's not meant to be seminal. It's 'Hi,' 'Hello,' a thing that you first hear.
Kelela
Me
You
First
Few
Thinking
Project
Hi
Introducing
About
More
Around
Hear
Artist
Centered
Cut
Meant
Meant To Be
Used
Hello
Elements
Thing
I don't want you to feel defeated, like, 'Oh boy, why do you do this to me?' We have too many of those songs.
Kelela
Me
You
Too
Those
Songs
Feel
Like
Boy
Oh
Want
Many
Why
Defeated
To me, the best writing points to something literal or common but is also nuanced: The moment when somebody is telling you they love you while simultaneously disappointing you. Everybody's experienced that.
Kelela
Love
Best
Me
You
Writing
Somebody
Everybody
Telling
Something
Points
Disappointing
Simultaneously
Also
Common
Experienced
Love You
Literal
While
Moment
Popular music was this abstraction - an abstraction that I was relating to immensely but was ultimately far away.
Kelela
Music
Relating
Immensely
Abstraction
Ultimately
Far
Far Away
Popular
Popular Music
Away
It's been hard for me to nail visual language and personal style because I like so many different things.
Kelela
Me
Language
Style
Visual
Nail
Like
Because
Been
Personal
So Many Different Things
Different
Personal Style
Hard
Many
Different Things
Things
It's such a challenging time, and in my small way, I will make it so that other younger women, and maybe older women, will be able to do the things they want to do, and accept themselves and their experience.
Kelela
Time
Women
Experience
Will
Older
Other
Way
Able
Small
Make
Accept
Maybe
Want
Younger
Themselves
Older Women
Challenging
Things
When I was little, my parents would have these gatherings, and it was a common thing for me and my cousins to have to put on, like, shows.
Kelela
Me
Parents
Gatherings
Would
Put
Like
Cousins
Common
Little
Shows
Thing
I would love to do an album of standards!
Kelela
Love
Would
Standards
Album
There's definitely a push and a pull to 'legitimize' electronic music live by playing the same way that a band would play.
Kelela
Music
Band
Live
Way
Definitely
Would
Push
Same
Electronic
Electronic Music
Play
Playing
Pull
Most of my friends, growing up, were upper-middle-class white kids, so it was a different reality at home both culturally and linguistically. It created a lot of insecurities for me, but it also did a lot of amazing things that I didn't know were happening at the time.
Kelela
Time
Home
Me
Reality
Amazing
White
Kids
Insecurities
Both
Know
Most
Also
Were
Amazing Things
Lot
Up
Friends
Did
Different
Happening
Created
Growing
Growing Up
Things
After it became clear that I was not going to graduate, I had this moment where I was like, 'I need to not sulk. I need to pursue - at least try - to pursue music. But if I don't try, I'm going to be a really bitter middle-aged lady working in a cubicle.'
Kelela
Music
Try
Bitter
Pursue
Had
Clear
Like
Became
Least
Graduate
Going
Where
Lady
After
Middle-Aged
Really
Working
Moment
Need
A black woman's handbook in this industry is, 'Whoa.' The chapter on 'Don't go there.' The chapter on 'How to say that nicely,' how to express that you don't like something so that you don't lose the opportunity - which is what we're doing all day long.
Kelela
Day
You
Woman
Chapter
Opportunity
Black
Long
Lose
Whoa
Say
All Day
Something
Like
Industry
How
Doing
Go
Handbook
Which
Express
Nicely
I'm pushing back against the white, misogynistic, heterosexual establishment in the music industry. Like, literally, in all its forms.
Kelela
Music
White
Music Industry
Back
Heterosexual
Pushing
Like
Industry
Establishment
Literally
Against
Forms
There is this feeling among black artists that you have to be really careful. We're not inclined to talk about this stuff because, if we do, we put ourselves in a position where we're not marketable or where we can't win.
Kelela
You
Win
Black
Feeling
Ourselves
About
Put
Stuff
Talk
Because
Artists
Where
Really
Inclined
Among
Careful
Position
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