Kelela Mizanekristos Quotes
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There are no black women geniuses that are being named in canons. I could name a bunch, but it's not part of common knowledge. It's not how the world is taught to think about black women.
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Anyone who understands anti-racist work, a white person specifically, understands that it is not black people's responsibility, or any person of color's responsibility, to dismantle the structures that keep white people in positions of power. We do our job to thrive, to survive. To protect ourselves, to sit together and feel better and to heal.
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I spent a lot of time in college. I was just being academic and discovering myself through reason and analysis.
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It's been hard for me to nail visual language and personal style because I like so many different things.
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My queer black women peers are the ones who make me not feel crazy. The way we act is so instinctive.
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I am not carefree. I'm just not. I experience an immense amount of joy, a crazy amount of joy through sadness and so much struggle. There's something problematic about 'carefree black girl.'
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The act of me just being robust in the world is so radical - it's so radical for a black woman to think she's going to be a star, because it takes so much to get there. It's still a battle every day, but I feel happy because I feel like I cracked the code and figured out how to work through it. Now I want to give the map to other women.
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I think my worst enemy was myself. It's like I've been in my own way more than anybody else has been.
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As it pertains to my black womanhood, there's just a lot of ground to cover. There's a lot of stuff to say.
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How much closer can I get to the common ear, the mainstream, and how much it can still be from this other world, this other place? That's the line I keep trying to tread but have my wings extend more on both sides.
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As much as we like to pretend we're just getting on stage and whatever, it's like, no, I practiced in front of the mirror my whole life.
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When it comes to melodies, production, and sound in pop music, people try to be formulaic and solely concerned with what's resonant in a way that is so cheap and ugly. It actually just devolves culture, ultimately.
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Sometimes I learn by someone giving me warnings and giving me advice about what to do next. And other times, a lot of times, I have to put my hand into the fire.
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I like smart rappers who aren't necessarily trying to be deeper than you, like Danny Brown.
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There's definitely a push and a pull to 'legitimize' electronic music live by playing the same way that a band would play.
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It's gratifying to hear something familiar and challenging at the same time.
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Popular music was this abstraction - an abstraction that I was relating to immensely but was ultimately far away.
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I guess the bottom line is I don't make music that is consumed en masse.
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I'm definitely seeking to challenge tropes.
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'Take Me Apart' doesn't feel cohesive in a singular way but in a varied way. You can fixate on individual songs, and there are references from all over the place: Anita Baker to Bjork. I wanted to show all the facets of myself.
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That's pretty much how every song of mine works - I start with gibberish and melody and phrasing. I speak it naturally first. And then I think about lyrics that fit into that.
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I've always had this commitment to not being in one thing.
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My music sounds like one synergised thing, one message.
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I was in school studying International Studies and Sociology. I was really into what was going on in school. I was affected by the ideas and engaged as a student, but not disciplined or motivated enough to do the work. That was a fear of mine for a while, that nothing was motivating.