Ari Lennox

“And I always was getting fired and quitting jobs, so I was not going to ruin Public Storage, and I was excited about Public Storage because I knew eventually I could be one of those property manager people that had their own apartment on site. So I had these big dreams for Public Storage.”

“There are a lot of incredible producers out there. But that doesn't mean when you get in the studio that the vibe is right and that it's a fun experience, and you can trust people, and just have a good time.”

“I'm going to fight for what I want.”

“It's just really hard to commit to clean eating, and then sometimes you don't want to eat cold salads. Sometimes you want that warm comfort food.”

“At the end of the day, I was getting really close to quitting. I was starting to accept that maybe I'm just going to be a SoundCloud singer, and that's when Dreamville came and saved me.”

“I use shea butter, olive oil, Shea Moisture - the coconut hibiscus bottle. A mix of that. If I want to do a slick bun, I'll use Eco Style Gel even though it has fragrance in it. Oooh, scary. I'll survive. I keep using it because it works.”

“I can't believe people love my music. It just feels like a dream because that is all I ever wanted.”

“I never had an apartment before, so just finally having my own place. And it was magical. It was gorgeous - beautiful tub. I never could use the tub because I was afraid of the roaches.”

“I'm always going to take an experience and a fire beat and marry it all together with adult melodies. I try to paint, just like Frank Ocean paints with his lyrics. I try in similar ways to paint my life into these songs.”

“I was scared of planes and then also just got this job. It was $10 an hour. To me, that was way more important than meeting J. Cole.”

“My favorite style inspirations are between Rihanna and Diana Ross.”

“My dad would always play Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Anita Baker, so I fell in love with them. I would try to make my voice sound like theirs.”

“My life would've been so different if my parents listened to Korn. That would've been fire!”

“But yeah, so many people are just not very genuine online. I caught myself looking for my ex, and a lot of these people that I would swipe right on, I'm meeting them in real life and they're just not that guy at all.”

“I came across this guy named DJ Grumble and I just really liked his beats because they were different. I felt like they spoke to me.”

“I started gravitating towards Soundcloud. So, that was my hustle and then I met my manager Justin in 2012 and we were just grinding it out in New York.”

“Something about Mariah Carey's songs really had me wanting to sing high like her.”

“I'd be at these different clubs passing out my business cards and fliers. Then the club would end, the light would come on and all my business cards would be on the floor.”

“I don't have good discipline at all.”

“I always wanted to solo at the church and they didn't ever give it to me. But eventually they did and I froze. But then I killed it.”