Goapele

“I want to create a different kind of legacy.”

“Africa doesn't look like it's changed that much to me since I first went in '94. There is still a major economic divide, but the rights of Africans have changed and progressed.”

“I'm extremely proud I was born and raised in the Bay Area and loved representing Oakland. I started recording in the Bay Area and worked with a lot of different producers. But I always wanted to collaborate with different writers and get different perspectives.”

“I believe, as artists, I do think we have a responsibility, and there's also a place for a lot of different artists. It is nice when music captures the honesty of the time but also what we're going through in that moment.”

“I think it's okay to be vulnerable and ask for support when you need it. It's something more women have to do because it's not easy.”

“I did struggle with what I want to say socially, but it's important to reflect where I'm at mentally.”

“Mos is a true artist who has a story to tell and gives back through his music. He remixed my song 'Different' in 2005, and the song we're working on now will be one of my future projects.”

“I'm thankful that my daughter's father has allowed me to do what I do because that really makes a difference. I do believe a woman can have it all.”

“Sometimes I'm just like, 'I cannot hold onto this anymore,' and it's time to say something. And at the end of the day, I've just got to let it go and be true to myself. Whatever comes out comes out.”

“I think police brutality has been going on since - I don't know - ever since I can remember and, you know, hearing about it in my childhood.”

“I wash and moisturize my face in the morning and at night. If I have a show, I may even wash before and after the show. I never go to sleep with makeup on my face. At the minimum, I'm at least going to use makeup wipes to take my makeup off.”

“Good soul music should make you feel something in your heart, in your body, and in your spirit. That's what I try to do both in the studio and on stage.”

“I feel happy with myself when I go to the steam room and steam my face. But truth be told, my ultimate beauty indulgence is lip balm - I can't go an hour without lip balm.”

“It's always liberating to feel like I'm changing my hair and know that my fans are supporting that. I like to feel like I'm really expressing myself, and when people embrace it, it feels like an authentic connection.”

“My hair story has been unique because my mom's a German Jew, so her hair is way different than my hair. She was always learning on my hair growing up, but I would sit there for hours, and she did learn how to braid hair. Early on, it was a lot of tears while my mom was braiding my hair.”

“'Break of Dawn,' musically, is still soulful and eclectic, but I think I opened up a little bit more vocally. It's a little more intimate. It's a little more sensual than before - and pensive.”

“When I'm singing, I can see so many people, and I can see their response and everything. And being somewhere like the Hollywood Bowl, I'm seeing those immediate people in front of me, but other than that, it's just dots, and I'm just imagining who's out there and imagining their responses.”

“I've experienced a lot of creative freedom because I'm on a family label. It was nice to put out what I wanted to say and do what I wanted to do.”

“I tend to write a lot of love songs, but I always want there to be something real and authentic that people can connect to, and I want to not just do it in a stereotypical way.”

“In high school, I started training, singing with choirs, and getting voice lessons and doing a lot of creative writing and decided that that's really what I wanted to pursue as a career, and that's what I was going to study.”