Being singer/songwriter implies versatility and being able to create more than one medium, and R&B artist is a box, simple as that. It is 'that's what you do, that's what you are', and that's a little unfair, to me, because I don't just do that. So I like singer/songwriter because it allows me to move a little bit more freely.
I'd love to be an artist that's multifaceted. At the moment, I am not. But wouldn't that be cool if I was like, 'Yeah, let me pull out my guitar and play you a song.' I would adore that. I am so far not gifted in that way. But I am a very hard worker and a very determined person, so who knows?
I think of myself as an entertainment arsenal. Like I have my acting bazooka and my music machete. And you don't know what I'm going to come at you with.
So many singers want to act, and so many actors try to sing.
I don't just rap - I sing and I dance as well.
It's not that I'm playing a rapper. I definitely feel like I'm a legitimate rapper. I just think that, who I am, there's more to me than just being a rapper.
We used to say that inside Cecil Beaton there was another Cecil Beaton sending out lots of little Cecils into the world. One did the sets, another did the costumes. A third took the photographs. Another put the sketches in an exhibition, then into magazines, then in a book.
In 2NE1, you mostly see just one side of CL.
Essentially, I am an actor for hire. I am not a rarified creature. I do all these different things, and they all interest me.
Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction...All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland...I just hate to be in one corner. I hate to be put as only a guitar player, or either only as a songwriter, or only as a tap dancer. I like to move around...Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.
I'm not into just one thing; I always felt like I had to have my hand in everything revolving around what I do, whether it's directing videos, making beats, making music, performing.
As a musician, I don't have one thing that's "my thing." I like to create, and have a lot of outlets for it. Dustin Hoffman is one of the guys that sets a model for me, because of how good he is at being such different characters. Every time you see DeNiro, he's pretty much DeNiro - great, but DeNiro. Hoffman is different every time, depending on his character. That's how I see myself as a performer.
A jazz musician is a combination orator, dialectician, mathematician, athlete, entertainer, poet, singer, dancer, diplomat, educator, student, comedian, artist, seducer, public masturbator, and general all-round good fellow.
People always call me a comedian. And I don't really see myself like that. I guess I just consider myself an actor who does comedy. But who wants to do other things as well.
Me being able to be acting and doing other things has opened me as an artist, and I think even more from a visual standpoint.
When I started, I was 23 years old directing my own music videos; I'm co-producing on my album; I'm hands-on with everything. I'm more than just a pretty boy: I'm an artist. I'm not saying I'm a hip-hop music artist, I'm an artiste.
Clive Barker is just genius, and he's incredibly gifted in so many different ways. He can write and direct and paint and do all these different things, and he can do them all extremely well.
You can't really label me as a musician, a comedian, or a rapper - you know, it's different.
I don't consider myself just a rapper or just a singer. I'm a music producer, lyricist. I'm a poet as well, and acting is also a part of big entertainment.
I'm a recording artist, a performing artist and a producing artist. All those things have everything to do with the outcome of my shows. I get myself studying every part of the game and not everyone has the characteristic to do that. In my mind, you need all three to become an artist.
One other thing, if it's possible, as songwriters, you should also develop yourself as record producers.
Beyonce has very clear ideas - she knows exactly what she wants. The thing which she then also has over other celebrities is that she has an amazing voice. She's incredibly talented, and she's an amazing dancer - she's complete. Few are like Beyonce.
I'm a real gangster rapper and I'm a rapper. I just think my music takes different directions. I don't think you can pigeon hole me in one genre. I'm probably the most versatile in the game, period.
There's something really natural to me about being what they call in the business a "hyphenate." Being a musician-actor or writer-musician-actor.
I enjoy the acting, but I didn't plan on that. It fell into my lap, and I'm having a lot of fun with it, but I'm definitely moving towards directing because I'm naturally a writer, and I think a good director edits, writes, and has acted a little bit. He's done a little bit of everything, and that's what I'm trying to do.
