A biography for India Ariehasn’t been written yet.
“I wouldn't be back in my 20s for anything.”
“That's the kind of music I want SoulBird to represent: music with intelligence and heart, music that moves people in their souls and their bodies. Music with wings.”
“I loved her music and the fact that she was a classically trained pianist and that her voice was so unique, but what made Nina Simone my hero is that I had never seen anyone in the public eye who looked anything like me at all, ever.”
“What I love about Stevie Wonder is the way he makes people feel. He's one of the best examples of how music can heal.”
“Nobody looked like me when I was growing up. None of the kids were as big as me, or as serious as me, or listened to the same music.”
“In hindsight, I feel like I made the right decision to choose production that would get played on black radio.”
“I made a conscious decision when I was recording 'Acoustic Soul' to - and this is one of my mantras - follow the music and let the chips fall where they may.”
“Music lives in my mother - she's played in bands in Detroit and toured and did the whole thing. So I have somebody who's done it all to just talk to. And we write songs together.”
“Saying things on paper that I would never, ever say, and saying things to myself, admitting things to myself, about myself and my personality, just putting it on paper, is how I deal with emotional pain.”
“You deal with what comes to you. If it's something you don't like, you deal with it the best you can. If it's something that you love, you rise to the occasion.”
“The subconscious doesn't distinguish sarcasm and jokes. It just accepts what it hears. That's the power of words.”
“Songs like 'Peaceful World' and songs that are responsible with their lyrics and talk about love and harmony can take the forefront and do something for real.”
“I always pray when I write songs that my spirit guides, or whoever is with me, inspiring me, would let me speak the truth.”
“Every once in a while, I find something that I'm interested in just because of the singing, like the Goo Goo Dolls.”
“There are a lot of men who like women with a brain.”
“I'm not just making rhymes and making melodies. I'm expressing my true life force, energy.”
“The thing that makes me feel most alive is knowing that there's something that I have to do that I'm afraid of.”
“In this era, soul is not a sound or a color: it's an intention.”
“When someone is themselves through their music, it's soul music. James Taylor is soul music to me 'cause it's just him talking about him. It doesn't have anything to do with black or growing up in the church; it's where it comes from. It's just soul music.”
“The thought crossed my mind about not wanting to alienate my fan base, but I don't know what would alienate them or bring them in, so I decided not to think about it.”