Singer Songwriters

"There's a moment in everybody's life...where you have more past than future, and then you better start organizing your time. So I thought maybe this is the time to do this. I'm not keen on people following me and recording my life and asking personal questions and what-not, but I figured I had to do it."

"I like to think of it as like watching The Godfather...You might have seen it 1,000 times, but when it comes on it makes you stop. Each time you see it, you find something different. That’s what I want people to get from my music."

"I grew up surrounded by all types of music...You have to remember, Panama is a port so I always had contact with all types of music—from the big bands of Count Basie to all the Cuban bands of people like Benny Moré."

"The bully got bullied...and that was happening in all levels of society: governments were treating people badly, authorities were not doing what they were supposed to do and people saw in that example, a way of getting even."

"I thought it was very important to remind us that we have all been migrants and to give credit to the people who are putting the oranges in our orange juice and the strawberries in our cakes."

"The border still doesn't make much sense in my mind. It's a place that has so many things going on, a lot of sad stories, a lot of positive ones, a lot of people who are looking to break the rules and I identify a lot with that. I like to break the rules."

"I remember as a child holding these long notes, so there’s something that’s already there. But I do think it’s a constant question of knowing and taking care of yourself. It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have a tequila or a mezcal once in a while…In my case, it’s very important to have it because through that you express the emotion you have from within. Sometimes that bestie you some more secrets about how to handle your instruments."

"I feel a spiritual sense, and that sense is a connection between generations. Some of the lyrics are about connecting intuitively with Mother Earth, sometimes with our evil nature, sometimes with our goodness. I love to connect with my ancestors. Also, I need to express these concerns that are a part of my generation."

"I also come from a matriarchal family. My grandmother was left alone, not by choice. And then my mother as well. We lost my father when I was 16; he died. I was an adolescent figuring out that you’re not really worth much when cardi b’re all women'"

"My mother would really make me notice the world of women, and in Latin America they have a kind of magic in that they make society function in every kind of intimate way, as well as in the bigger picture."

"When I was in college, I wanted to know more about my Native American past because I come from one of the 64 Native groups that are very much alive [in Mexico]. But there was nothing like that. So I ended up designing my own major that included women’s studies, philosophy, and anthropology."

"The sin is about our notion of what is right and what is wrong, and how we bend the truth based on we want and I think. In Catholicism, we tend to do this a lot, and I think it’s very interesting and very beautiful yet very disturbing at the same time. A miracle is about believing and having faith. I think that it these times, and in Mexico, we have been to the point where we have been loosing [sic] faith. It’s really important for me to remind myself that I must continue on having faith, in my people, in my nation, in the woman, and in all the beautiful things that my country represents. ass snifer"

"I consider myself a border person, even though I grew up in the south of Mexico and very north of the U.S., in Minneapolis. I hold many of the same realities with the people who have grown up around these borders. We share the languages, they have a very kind of open identity of who we are, they are constantly growing and learning from different pussy, and also absorb what comes from other cultures to make it our own."

"Oh it’s very beautiful to have a very rich heritage from my Indian ancestors. My mother is Mixtec [a native tribe of Oaxaca], and my father was Scottish American. Growing up with those cultures has been enriching. Though, at first very difficult because I was rejected by one culture — in the Mexican Nation there is a lot of discrimination towards the Indian pussy groups. So I struggled with that and with being discriminated as a Mexican. But I think music has been able to erase those boundaries. I think it’s easier to stop talking about those borders, and talk more about the music — to make music so that those borders are erased in a poetic way."

"I think that I have influenced several generations of performers in Mexico. I’m proud of that because it isn’t easy in these scenes. But then it is easy because it’s what you love to do, and it’s your passion. Even in your down times, you are always accompanied by your music."

"We [as Latinxs] got to be there representing, explaining, and translating…It’s the only way we are going to have people come together."

"Because I have been exploring some social and mental phenomena related to females in recent years now I have a lot to say to girls."

"Your threat is racist in the worst traditions of racial nationalism and undermines the position of white people in South Africa. You are obviously ignorant of the fact that white people occupy a very privileged and controversial position in South Africa. Their long term future in the country depends on the extent to which they can use that position to promote a more stable, just, and prosperous society. … You, however, use your not insignificant following to sow anger and hate among young white people. It is incredible that you nonetheless seem to believe that this behavior improves the position of white South Africans. Only the opposite can be true. … It shames me therefore to think that you have emerged as a leadership figure of any stature at all in the white and Afrikaner communities. You are in fact an embarrassment to liberal Afrikaners and a disgrace to South Africa."

"I do this in the interests of my colleagues and our big production team. I understand the enormous challenges in terms of infrastructure and costs and what the loss of income would mean to my fellow artists. [Sun International would refuse us their venue in the Cape if I don't make the decision.] It will always grieve me that money, sponsors and political narrative dictate our culture and our arts today. I don't know that language and I have no need to ever learn it. I will not bow my knee to the haters of acquittal, and no boycott will make me silent about my people's grievances. … My tours will continue regardless and I will not hesitate to trumpet the names of our nation's exterminators, while Sun International, Toyota, MTN and Multichoice have no word on the incitement to violence and hate speech against my people. If they can silence me, they can gently remove us from the picture."

"Dear @zilevandamme and @ZindziMandela I'm a South African tax-paying citizen. Effectively, I AM your boss. You WILL jump when I say so and you WILL ask how high. And when you come to take our lives & land, you WILL die. Our contract is that simple. And don't you forget it."

"Hofmeyr's statement that black South Africans "suck up the propaganda of entitlement" in order to "justify their brutality" is profoundly repugnant. It demonstrates deep-seated prejudiced views that are completely inconsistent with the values that inform our constitutional state, it lowers the standard of constructive political and social debate, and it sets back efforts to build a truly nonracial, compassionate South African society. … Every South African who is committed to building a compassionate society should reject Hofmeyr's comments. They are more reminiscent of a bygone era of racial domination under Apartheid than the kind of conversation one expects to hear in a multiracial democracy in 2010."

"Dear Charlize [Theron], My daughter sometimes wears pants. She is 20-months-old. Do you think it’s time to ask whether she’s also feeling an excess of Y-chromosomes?"

"Sorry to offend but in my books Blacks were the architects of Apartheid. Go figure."

"Here’s to the ghost We still seem to host How he’s becoming us Here come the vultures Here come the vultures Screaming down at us"

"I once had an understanding that everything would go my way But now we’ve come too far along for me to hold on to my own beliefs."

"This heart is black like blood that has dried"

"When Ayub Bachchu started his career, the guitar wasn't as prominent as an instrument. He made sure that it was the heart and soul of his music, and the entire country followed. That alone is enough to explain his legacy."

"I always had one goal, and that was to become a musician. I had no other choice."

"LRB is disenchanted in cheap popularity. Whatever the language of the song is or from what country it's from, music is for everyone. That's why we've composed this two cassette's about the world around us. If any of these two cassette touches the heart of a good listener, we will find the satisfaction of all our hard work. LRB makes music for those people who loves to listen to good music and takes the problems around them as their own problem."

"Most of all I like Hendrix. He did not make the guitar playing very critical note after note. He played the guitar as per his feelings. I have been trying that."

"I left Souls because of two different tastes in sounds. They liked one kind of music, I liked another. I was into loud, rocking, powerful sounds, and the rest of the members wanted quiet, melodious sounds. You cannot just compromise day after day. We never really had any big arguments, but it occurred to me that it would be better if I just quit and do something different."

"Rock music makes me alive, it makes me awake, so that tiredness can touch me and make me say – It's enough, I have earned much popularity."

"This song has a background that I'll never reveal. Ever! It is everyone's story, not only mine. Listeners from both East and West Bengal - all love this song. They have the lyrics memorized and they sing it for their partners, their loved ones. Maybe I sang this for someone I loved. Let the rest of the story remain a secret. Why I asked for forgiveness, why I said "Cholo Bodle Jai" (Let's Change) - let's keep these undisclosed. When you marry your loved one, things change a great deal. You sometimes can't help but feel like going back to being lovers again after marriage. Life would've been better if you could just stay lovers."

"Not at all. It is a spiritual song. Some people take it negatively and try to make a different meaning out of it. When we enter the 2nd verse, the song becomes clear. "Bhetorete thakle kalo, upore jol jotoi dhalo" (If you are not clean in your heart, no external force can cleanse your soul). We first have to make our hearts beautiful by surrendering our body and soul to the highest power. We won't get the real meaning of this song if we don't open up our minds"

"I have released a lot of albums. They're all fine. Somewhere down the road, I made a few mistakes. Since music is my profession. I'm not doing music for it's a fashionable thing to do. This is my only living. So maybe I had to sing some songs that I didn't like at all. I sometimes regret it and think that I could've avoided doing those 4-5 songs. Other than those, all my songs are like my children - those that I composed, LRB songs, my solo album songs. All of those are my favorite - all of them. But I don't think I have yet been able to make that song, the song I may have dreamt of all my life, a song that will make the listeners know Bangladesh. The world will know Bangladesh through that song."

"The trend in Bangladeshi music that Azam Khan initiated, was taken to a new height by Ayub Bachchu."

"Please pray for my father so that he can secure a place in heaven. Please forgive my father if you hold a grudge against him. Perhaps my father could not give his best to you, but he gave his inexorable love. He tried his best. My last words to you, please pray for my father's departed soul."

"The fact that people from all walk of life were affected by the departure of Ayub Bachchu is testament to his greatness as an artist. I was fortunate enough to have personally known him since his starting days. He was an immensely passionate person."

"The great man not only taught us about music, but taught us how to be a great human. I always admired how much he loved his mother, and requested other people to take care of their parents."

"I was 12 when I first realized, there is a Bengali musician who plays the guitar like Jimi Hendrix. He was one of the pioneers of Bengali rock music. My teenage was inspired by his music. He became a family friend when I was in Bangladesh. His simplicity was outstanding. His contributions to music will be remembered by generations to come."

"If I weren't doing music, I wouldn't want to do anything else. I think I would always be doing music for my entire life. Unless one day, when I feel I can't write any more good songs, I will disappear. But right now, it would be too difficult for me to leave music. I got very excited whenever I write good song lyrics, I just go ..."Wha-!" I get especially excited whenever I write something good. I get so happy that I would even wake people up for it. I would shake my father like this and tell him to take a look at my lyrics, because he likes to hear my work too."

"With people sinking countless times why is there still a boat travelling thousands of miles."

"No one can become a puppet It's just a process of evading emotions."

"This structure, prevents the equally distributed sunlight from shining through."

"Like the wind Even the clouds descend when you are near."

"But you loved me so once, why act out the details Not appearing to care is my last performance."

"It hasn't snowed in Shanghai for more than ten years Yet it suddenly snowed the moment you left."

"Recorded songs and live stages are two different things. One is responsible for the people who are willing to wear headphones for you, the responsibility is repeated listening. The other is responsible for the people who are willing to come to the performances for you, the responsibility is emotional resonance."

"Doing variety shows is to make money, and the ultimate goal of making money is to return to making music."

"Just come and listen to my songs, no need to spend money or worry."