It's just like heirloom tomatoes; this is heirloom music. We used to have all kinds of diversity in our poultry, in our vegetables, in our fruits, and slowly but surely the monoculture beast comes in. I'm saying that's not a good idea. And if it means that I gotta do it on my own, then I do it on my own.
— Taj Mahal
No matter what went down, music was always going to be a part of my life. What ultimately happened is that, over a period of time, I just kind of looked around and when like, 'Wow! I'm actually making a living doing this.'
I'm a composer, man.
When I was a kid, there was so much talent outside of recorded music.
I would have never gotten to college if it hadn't been for getting up at 4 A.M. and milking them Holsteins.
What the future of the planet and music and art and all of it is sharing; it's diversity.
Music is like the soul of the planet.
I just worked my own personal thoughts into my music, and just kept at it until I found a way in.
My music is really fun music, with some pan-African and pan-American influences.
I'm doing exactly what I always wanted to do, and I still like what I can do musically.
I was always taught that Latin, Caribbean people were cousins to me, as well as blues was a cousin to me, as well as Africans were direct relatives to me. It was all a part of my language.
More and more people are finally realizing that in the heart of America, there's all this incredible music that wasn't widely heard before because it wasn't in the interest of those who feel they have to control the taste of the wider public.
As I got more involved in music, one of the things that made me excited, from the time I was a child, was that clear link between our ancestors and the sounds we hear today.
The one thing I've always demanded of the records I've made is that they be danceable.
As a solo performer, it's total involvement. What I do is to break down the wall between audience and performer.
It's very interesting, the dynamics of popularity. When you do something all the time, you don't worry about whether it's trendy or not.
If what you're talking about is seeing someone perform, then I'll have to say that in the rhythm-and-blues side of things, seein' Otis Redding live was it, you know?
My grandmother had many children. She lost most. So when we came along, we were really special. I was the first grandchild that could see her spirit moving to a new generation.
I've got tons more stuff to do.
I base myself in African-derived music. Blues is one of the modern forms of African music.
I love playing in Germany. I love playing anywhere where people are going to enjoy the music. Germany is especially nice to play.
It's pretty exciting. An honorary doctorate of the arts. It doesn't get any better.
My perspective is cultural and world-based. It's always been a global perspective.
Particularly with the blues, it's not just about bad times. It's about the healing spirit.
When I was 5 or 6, I was messing around with the piano, and I listened to everything from Chopin to boogie-woogie.
Naw, it - it never stops, man... You gotta be doing what you're supposed to be doing - whenever, however it's coming down, you know. If you're getting your butt kicked - you still gotta do what you gotta be doing.
I'm always cracking up when I hear what people think I should be doing.
As a youngster, my parents made me aware that all that was from the African Diaspora belonged to me. So I came in with Caribbean music, African music, Latin music, gospel music and blues.
All the music that I play today, I actually heard either at home or in my neighborhood when I was growing up in the '40s and '50s.
My grandparents on my father's side came to this country from the Caribbean with a strong connection to Africa and no shame about it.
I don't need the credits for playing the blues and paying the dues. I've already done it. There are some other things to do here - movies and scores and voice-overs.
What you have to understand is that blues... it's in a line from the oldest forms of African music. If you're playing it like it's an echo of the past, it would be a lot less exciting, but this music lives today.
I was always looking for evidence of these common musical roots, but I was too young to know that what I was doing was called ethnomusicology.
I'm old enough to chew my peas and corn without choking.
In looking out into the world, it didn't look all that nice out there. And who were the nice people? Certainly Mahatma Gandhi was.
Ziggy Marley is the third generation of Marleys I know. I knew his grandmother and his dad - I did a children's album with his grandmother. They're like family.
I came up not understanding that a lot of people didn't start to hear music until they went to college or were turned on by an older brother or sister.
Very old music is, like, 11th century in my mind. That's very old.
The song of the blues, the song of the music, was something a lot of people missed out on. They thought they had to swagger a certain way or bark at the mic, and you don't have to do that.
I haven't worn one for a long time, but I look pretty good in a suit.
American music is a powerful ingredient in international music, and as much as it comes from within, it also comes from without.
I've only been on MTV once as one of their 'Closet Classics,' with some bootleg footage of a 1970 tour I did in Holland. They didn't know what to make of my music, but they finally invented a name for it - world beat music.
I'm doing exactly what I should be doing, every day on the road.
The blues is played everywhere. There's no place I've been where they don't have blues or aren't interested in blues.
I pretty much move around wherever I like.
I'm perceived as someone who goes out and searches for new music, but it was all present in my household.
My parents grew up during the Harlem renaissance.
I see myself as a composer who plays music and likes to play with other people, and not just as a solo artist.
If the Rolling Stones are playing a concert across town, that's not my audience anyways. But I do find that there's a lot of people coming back around to see me again.
As a kid, I always felt connected to Africa; it was something I was very proud of.
