Frank Ocean

“Obviously, the cinematography of films is art, just as a still shot can be art. If I'm watching a Wes Anderson movie, the colour palettes alone, and the way they're painted, could be art. With music, you're a little bit limited, of course, because it's only audio.”

“I believe that I'm one of the best in the world at what I do, and that's all I've ever wanted to be.”

“The idea of recognising your strengths and using them in as versatile a way as you can is cool to me.”

“I'm in this business to be creative - I'll even diminish it and say to be a content provider.”

“You gotta make sure the listener is listening to you, so if you put it into a song, often times, if the song is striking enough, then you can really deliver the story most effectively while keeping the ear of the listener the whole time.”

“Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story, but music sometimes, just music itself, can turn into more of a maths problem. I guess everything in life is a math problem, but it can be more about an empirical route to getting the symmetry that you want, and this vibe, sonically.”

“As a writer, as a creator, I'm giving you my experiences. But just take what I give you. You ain't got to pry beyond that.”

“It started to weigh on me that I was responsible for the moves that had made me successful, but I wasn't reaping the lion's share of the profits, and that was problematic for me.”

“It's cool to be recognised by your peers.”

“I don't ever want to be caught up in a system of thinking I can do one thing 'cos that's just... that's just telling yourself a lie.”

“It's not essential for me to have a big debut week; it's not essential for me to have big radio records.”

“Here's what I think about music and journalism: The most important thing is to just press play.”

“The way I approach this thing, when I started to get my head screwed on straight and really trying to make something of myself as an artist, when I was 19 or 20, it became more about function for me. Like, what is this song doing to you? What is the function of this type of artform? What is it doing?”

“Sometimes I'm fascinated with how famous my work could be while I'm not so famous.”

“I can't usually stomach a project after I finish it, but for those days and weeks and months that it's new to me, I do listen to it, and it might change over time, but it's about function.”

“I've written some great things. That's a gift, but there's consequences. Yeah, you get this great work, but you suffer. You really, really suffer.”

“I had writer's block for almost a year.”

“I enjoy singing my songs in front of people.”

“When I was growing up, there was nobody in my family - not even my mother - who I could look to and be like, 'I know you've never said anything homophobic.' So, you know, you worry about people in the business who you've heard talk that way. Some of my heroes coming up talk recklessly like that.”

“When I did have some success, it further emboldens you to be like, 'No, I'm just going to write what I feel I should write.'”