I want my music to be a contribution, and I want the people who love me on Earth and in Heaven to be proud of who I am, and I want to be proud of myself, and I don't want to look back and say, 'Oh God, why did I say that?'
— India Arie
Obviously, I've been heartbroken. We all know what that feels like.
This celebrity culture that hypnotizes people into thinking a person is literally not real because you see them on television is a spell the watcher him- or herself must break.
I'm actually not a fan of the word 'woke.' I think the connotation of that means being socially aware, which is a beautiful thing to be. But it does not take into account being self-aware.
There's just something creatively fulfilling about watching a movie and writing a song for it because it helps you put on another pair of shoes.
Every once in a while, I find something that I'm interested in just because of the singing, like the Goo Goo Dolls.
Some people say, 'If she's so real, why does she call herself with a made-up name?' Well, India is my real name. Or they say, 'If she's so real, why does she wear makeup?' I didn't know there was anything wrong with makeup.
I hope that the things that I sing about will be an inspiration for people to be original.
I've spent my entire life trying to figure out why I was different than everybody else. Why is my voice so deep? Why am I so muscular?
For me, the healing process starts with graciousness and forgiveness.
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.
I'm in show business, and I'm an entertainer, but I also see myself as an artist doing social and spiritual work.
It was challenging getting myself into the mindset to lose the weight. Once I got there, the weight dropped off quickly.
I've always wanted my music to serve a certain purpose.
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.
If I were not a black artist but I was still singing, playing guitar, and singing ballads that are spiritual and cerebral, I'd be easier to market because people accept that from white female singer-songwriters faster.
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.
I want to always be classy and honest, and I always want to have fun with music, and if I can't really express who I am through my music, then it's not really fun anymore.
Why not be a person who is loving towards humankind as a whole and people as individuals?
I was scared of failing, and I was scared of succeeding. I just wanted to be in a safe space and not grow too big or be too little.
You wash your hands when you shake a bunch of hands. You have to wash your energy when you're around people. It's hard for me to say self-care is washing, although I think it is. So I made music for self-care. That's what it's for.
With 'Acoustic Soul,' I saw my music as sparse. But I didn't do that because I was making a commitment to be commercial. That's what made 'Acoustic Soul' so difficult to produce. It took 2 1/2 years because I couldn't figure out what I wanted and still be commercial.
I always have something by Stevie Wonder in my CD player.
I love my brownness.
When I was growing up, I only saw really brown people on 'The Cosby Show,' and they were rich, and their parents were doctors. It wasn't like my home.
The subconscious doesn't distinguish sarcasm and jokes. It just accepts what it hears. That's the power of words.
I don't want the world to get any worse. I want to make it better.
Now that I have better producer chops, a country album is something I want to do one day. I don't know who's going to put it out. But when I do, I don't think people will call it 'country music.' They'll probably call it 'neo-soul.'
Could a person really make a social contribution through music consciously? I mean, beyond making a person happy to hear the song and more making a social contribution consciously through your music? For me, Stevie Wonder is the paragon of that. And I didn't want to be Stevie Wonder, but I did want to do what he does.
Our food choices show up on our body.
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.
In this era, soul is not a sound or a color: it's an intention.
Even when it doesn't look good, it's always good. Even the worst thing, there's always something good that comes out of it. I've learned that.
In Denver, all we really had was pop radio, so I grew up on all that late '70s pop stuff - Billy Joel, James Taylor, Lionel Richie, Elton John, Steve Miller and Toto. Great love songs and really hooky and melodic music - I have all of that stuff in my heart.
It's cool to hear my songs on the radio. But for me, that's just a way to get more people to have the option of choosing my music.
Denying any person their humanity is a game we should all stop playing.
You need to take care of you and fortify yourself and then move out to take care of others.
Everybody has a spiritual body. Everybody has a physical body, and so your spiritual body is the stuff that holds all of your emotions like your body holds your organs, your food, your muscles, your water. Your spiritual body holds your emotional state and your mental state.
Basically, I listen to voices. If they write good songs and they can sing, I'll probably like it.
There are a lot of men who like women with a brain.
It's OK to wear white in the wintertime. Do what you want.
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.
I know the things I say go out of my own mouth and into my own ears.
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.
It took me almost wanting to retire to realize that you need to ask for what you need. Everybody needs something different, but whatever it is you need, you need to ask for it and figure out how to get it.
I had been on what seemed to be a hiatus to the outside world, but I was actually working very hard on my health, my emotional health, and my business.
'Open Door' was a world music project and bilingual. It was in Hebrew and English, and it's great. I do think it's really beautiful. But it's very emotional and very dark - in a good way.
I do believe in prophecy.
I always felt like - I mean, I was told, really - I couldn't go too far with the productions because it didn't appeal to black radio. It wasn't until I decided I was going to do what I wanted to do or I was going to quit that I empowered myself. I took my power back.
If I don't have the right clothes, I feel weird walking out; I don't feel comfortable in what I have on. I have different colors that I want to wear on different days because it makes me feel different.
