It's such a weird process, songwriting, because you just have to feel it. There's no right or wrong melody or lyric.
It takes so much energy and time to make one song perfect.
Songwriting is what I do, and there could be worse burdens to carry.
You know, when you're making a record, you come up with 15, 20 songs. Then they start to fall by the wayside as your interest wanes. It's kind of like a process of elimination to determine which songs wind up on the record.
I love doing the music. I love programming beats and kind of working on the music as much, if not more, than the actual rapping.
There's nothing like that feeling of having just written a song that you know is 'the song,' and you know it's really great, and you can't wait to share it with people; you can't wait to record it.
Songwriting isn't a choice. You're either called upon to bear the burden, or you're not. It's not all fun and games.
Once I got into pop songwriting, I was kind of just ready to help other people tell their stories... I'm here to facilitate and structure and grow and make things a little more fabulous and a little more urgent.
Sometimes you can do a million songs, and if they're not good, you're just wasting your time.
That's what my life is, writing songs.
I've always idolized people who can write songs.
You know, I would say that songwriting is something about the expression of the heart, the intellect and the soul.
How does a person create a song? A lot of it is being open to encounter and to be in touch with the miraculous.
I remember making up songs in my head.
Songwriting is such an intricate part of me as an artist and as a person; I couldn't just let someone else do it.
I don't really write songs anymore.
One of the nice things about songwriting is you can be inspired by absolutely anything.
I don't like to overcook songs.
I'm very involved in the production of my songs. I know what I like and what I don't like.
People don't understand how long it really takes to find beats. Sometimes they're not all the way there, but it's elements in them I love. Then I get to take them to get chopped up. Ye got to cook over a few of them.
I can't even begin to express the joy I get from writing songs, both on my own and with others, I hold it all sacred.
Great songs come out of people's bedrooms; they come out of studios; there's no formula for it.
When I started writing songs at 18, I wrote about 100 that were crap. One was called 'Dog In A Disco.'
I think songwriting was the biggest way that I found my identity.
I put together amazing records, whether that's finding the beat or putting the right hook on there, and picking the right artists on the record. That's me being an A&R. And I'm making sure that they give me their best.
