I don't really have time to sit down and write. But when I think of a melody, I call up my answering machine and sing it, so I won't forget it.

I always wanted to be a singer, it's what I wanted to do since I was little. I'm doing it now and I couldn't be happier.

There are so many soulful singers, even the ones coming from London, like Adele and Jessie J, who are just amazing. It feels like a really cool time to be making music now.

You can only make political music if you have a context. . . . You cannot make political music in a vacuum. It'd be like me writing songs now about Margaret Thatcher. It'd just make no sense. But I think in the wake of 9-11 people are trying to articulate their feelings.

In my music, my plays, my films, I want to carry always this central idea: to be African.

It was Elvis who really got me hooked on beat music. When I heard "Heartbreak Hotel" I thought, this is it