Masego

“'Melanin Man' was inspired by the words of an Uber driver in L.A. Before I got out of the car he said, 'They're scared of you young man. You're a king and they all know it. They want your culture, your soulful element and your style. You're Melanin Man, a super hero. Be safe out here.' Then I got out the car and took that all in.”

“I listened to gospel music because that was just our culture, you know? My parents are pastors.”

“Everyone communicates with music in a different way. With some people, if there's not sheet music, they're not playing it.”

“I'm black so I've been getting eyed by cops my whole life.”

“With 'Lady Lady' I wanted to tell a story bluntly, and that's what happened. The goal is to get Erykah Badu-ish with it because she super bares her soul and she's so blunt.”

“I'm an athlete. I play basketball and football and all that with a bunch of other men, but that doesn't impact me emotionally.”

“You can't really choose what influences you. You can't choose what sparks something inside you.”

“Anyone I have musical chemistry with, I recruit, and we do shows and create drum kits together and make tunes for the SoundCloud.”

“There's something special about the influence a woman has on me.”

“I learn things myself. I call it YouTube University; YouTube has taught me more than anything. I learned how to tie a tie, all my pick-up lines come from YouTube reruns of 'Fresh Prince.'”

“I hate politicking. I'm not the type of dude to like get around 13 guys and talk about who's next. I can't stand that. I like to take action.”

“Full circle: 2014 I go from playing on the street to getting invited to play on stage, now 2016 I'm headlining.”

“Seeing Ed Sheeran make a beat from scratch when I was in college changed my life.”

“Most of my music is reflective, imaginative. A lot of it is about how I'm going to feel in the future.”

“I don't watch the news too much, and I don't look too deep into bad news about artists.”

“I think for the culture I gotta collaborate with Pharrell. He's from my area, that'd be amazing - what he would pull out of creatively.”

“I don't want to Kanye it, but I listen to myself a lot.”

“The moment you're not worried about adult problems and you get to just make music, then I've made it to some extent.”

“Everything that I'm doing, it's like a future jazz, future trap house movement.”

“Women who care about your health is such a cool thing. Your homies won't remind you to not eat gluten.”