Even though it's called Music Of Black Origin, it's not just music for black people. Music is for everybody. I think it's good that black music is acknowledged, and it's open for lots of artists, including white artists who have been inspired by black musical heritage.
The Grammys are very wide-ranging but it's still within the Western world of music. So it would be lovely if that opened up more.
Festival line-ups should have all types of music. It's part of cultural growth.
It's hella crazy being included in the music for the 'Ninja Turtles' movie.
I think it's important that everybody has access to music, and not just people who live in cities or who can afford to drive to the nearest city.
I feel like I don't fit in. There's not a lot of outlets for urban music, for black artists who don't have that crossover thing going early on.
Like any self-governing group of people, the Recording Academy has made missteps over the years. Still, it has corrected course and done more to open its arms to the future than nearly any other industry group around.
We need to bring music to the people, even to those who normally do not listen to classical music.
You know, Equal Interest played at the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival Awards and not one musician from that category was even thought of. Even thought of! The idea, that here's this vital energy, and that element doesn't even know it exists!
We need to take music out of the ivory tower - both for musicians and for the public. Otherwise, classical music will not survive the 21st century.
We're not talking about an elite art form from the price point of view. We have a building in L.A. that is incredibly open, exciting, inviting, and all that, and there's no reason for this music not to be part of everybody's everyday life.
When we were making vinyl records we had a lot of time limitations for each record so songs were left off for a number of reasons. Now, with CDs, much more music can be included.
My main goal, and it's a big one, is that every child has a chance to get close to music - as a right - that as they have access to food, health, and education, they get the chance to have art and culture - especially music.
