Tracy Chapman

“I had a ukulele when I was much younger. I have no idea what happened to it but I think that was part of it, just being inspired and wanting to try to play an instrument that, to me, sounded beautiful.”

“When we started making 'Where You Live', I bought a bunch of Polaroid cameras in so that people could record the experience. Some of those pictures are in the CD sleeve.”

“I started playing and writing songs when I was eight.”

“You need to keep something for yourself. As a writer, I feel that even more strongly. I feel like I need to be able to freely observe the world. That's the way I like to move through the world; I don't need to be the focus of attention. If I am, it impairs my ability to write and to do what I do.”

“I found myself in the middle of a race riot when I was about 14 years old, and I found someone pointing a gun at me and telling me to run or they'd shoot me.”

“I'm a hopeful cynic.”

“There's a time and place for everything, and my focus is music. So that's what I prefer to spend most of my time doing, and not talk about making music.”

“Love is hateWar is PeaceNo is YesAnd we're all free.”

“You have to pay attention to the moment and make it the best it can be for you. I've been trying to do that. It's really made a major difference for me. I'm a happier person.”

“As a child I always had a sense of social conditions and political situations. I think it had to do with the fact that my mother was always discussing things with my sister and me - also because I read a lot.”

“That's one of the things I like about San Francisco. It's not like anywhere else in the world.”

“After it's finished, sometimes I can trace a path that goes back to the possible source of inspiration.”

“It's fun playing small venues.”

“Stand up for yourself and fight for your right to be the artist that you want to be. There's plenty of pressure from outside; people tell you how to dress and how to sing or what to sing, but I always felt like if I'm going to fail or succeed, I want to do it on my own terms.”