Music Visionary Quotes

When I was a youngster, I wrote all this music - it just came out of me - and I think record executives were like, 'Oh, wow, he's a genius, let's give him a million dollars!' But the minute I started producing the records, they'd be like, 'Oh, my God, you're terrible! You're all over the place! We can't market this!'

I never considered myself like a pop musician or rock star, because that didn't really exist when I started.

I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam's fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era.

Don Cornelius was a genius. He created a show where he was breaking artists' songs. If you were on his show, he made the consumer want to go out and purchase your music. He will be greatly missed. If they ever try to recreate what he did, it has to been done right, authentic and real with soul! That's what Don displayed.

If it wasn't for John Peel, there would be no Joy Division and no New Order. He was one of the few people to give bands that played alternative music a chance to get heard, and he continued to be a champion of cutting-edge music throughout his life.

Birdman is probably one of the most intelligent music moguls out there.

I think everything Joni Mitchell did for music was big.

I want the biggest artist of 2030, 2027 or even 2025 to say, 'I was inspired by Cordae. Cordae is the reason I make music.'

Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th century music (I did not say jazz) what Einstein is to physics.

Obviously, Gaga's one of the greatest music visionaries of our time, and Beyonce is one of the greatest visions of our time. She is a music visionary, too.

Because I was in Atlanta, people didn't realize I'm one of the real forefathers in the game.

My lifelong friend and mentor Frank Barsalona is gone. And the music business as we knew it went with him.

If anybody calls me a female Quincy Jones, that's way, way complimentary. That's something I'll cherish for life.

Garth Fundis is a song guy. He is in it for the right reasons; he's about the music. He doesn't ever try to talk you into recording something that you shouldn't. He gets it.