India Arie Quotes

When I perform, I'm just very much just being myself.

- India Arie

Myself, Being Myself, Very, Perform

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.'

- India Arie

Country, One Day, Chops

There's a difference in being opinionated and judgmental; I'm still trying to figure out what that fine line is - I think we are all.

- India Arie

Think, Still, Figure, Fine Line

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.

- India Arie

Emotions, Everybody, Organs, Physical Body

Between '06 and '09, I dealt with pain by eating. And I was like, 'Oh, crap, eating makes you gain weight!'

- India Arie

Pain, Like, Makes, Gain Weight

I loved her music and the fact that she was a classically trained pianist and that her voice was so unique, but what made Nina Simone my hero is that I had never seen anyone in the public eye who looked anything like me at all, ever.

- India Arie

Voice, Fact, Trained, Public Eye

Listening to 'Songs in the Key of Life' always puts me in a good mood.

- India Arie

Listening, Always, Puts, Good Mood

I like Brandy a lot. She's a vocal prodigy.

- India Arie

She, Like, Lot, Prodigy

What I love about Stevie Wonder is the way he makes people feel. He's one of the best examples of how music can heal.

- India Arie

Love, Stevie, Stevie Wonder, Heal

For the first ten years of my career, I felt suffocated. People constantly stood over me while I tried to create. And in 2009, I hit rock bottom. I couldn't find myself because I was looking to be defined by the music industry or by being number one on the Billboard charts.

- India Arie

Career, Charts, Stood, Billboard

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.

- India Arie

Love, Billy, Lionel, Elton

Joe Sample was one of my heroes. I met him at the Curacao Jazz festival, and I fanned out like he was the Beatles!

- India Arie

Jazz, Like, Joe, Sample

I was born in love with music. My mother is a singer. Many of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side are musical. My grandparents sang and played blues piano. It's literally in my blood.

- India Arie

Love, Singer, Side, Aunts

Why not be a person who is loving towards humankind as a whole and people as individuals?

- India Arie

Loving, Person, Humankind, Why Not

I am on an album with theater icon Billy Porter called the 'Soul of Richard Rodgers.' Our duet is called 'Carefully Taught.'

- India Arie

Carefully, Richard, Billy, Duet

I am really excited to be partnering with Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula. Aside from being a longtime fan of their products, they're a family business with a strong ethical foundation, and that makes us a great match.

- India Arie

Strong, Foundation, Products, Palmer

It's not my place to say how Zoe Saldana perceives herself, and I can't say how anybody else perceives her, either. I see her as a black person of Hispanic origin, but I don't even know what that really means, because I don't know anything about race and Hispanic culture.

- India Arie

Anybody, Origin, About, Hispanic

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.

- India Arie

Like, Show, Saw, Cosby

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.

- India Arie

Mind, Think, Wanting, Alienate

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.

- India Arie

Lives, Whole, Bands, Toured

I'm kind of like a folk singer mixed with soul, but I feel like if you really are a lover of hip-hop music, make the beat banging as possible and then put the message in so that people get the honey with the medicine.

- India Arie

Soul, Singer, Feel, Banging

It's OK to wear white in the wintertime. Do what you want.

- India Arie

White, Want, Wear, Wintertime

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.

- India Arie

Song, Movie, Another, Just Something

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.

- India Arie

Think, Which, Connotation, Beautiful Thing

I hope that the things that I sing about will be an inspiration for people to be original.

- India Arie

Will, Original, I Hope That, Be Original

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.

- India Arie

Grow, Big, Wanted, Scared

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.

- India Arie

Love, Harmony, Like, Lyrics

The subconscious doesn't distinguish sarcasm and jokes. It just accepts what it hears. That's the power of words.

- India Arie

Words, Distinguish, Accepts, Jokes

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.

- India Arie

Kind, Want, Bodies, Represent

'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.

- India Arie

Door, Think, Very, Bilingual

When someone is themselves through their music, it's soul music. James Taylor is soul music to me 'cause it's just him talking about him. It doesn't have anything to do with black or growing up in the church; it's where it comes from. It's just soul music.

- India Arie

Soul, Through, James, Soul Music

I do believe in prophecy.

- India Arie

Believe, Prophecy

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.

- India Arie

Always, Worst Thing, Learned, Something Good

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.

- India Arie

Hands, Think, I Think, Energy

Just like the air you breathe or the water you drink, music shapes you. The trouble is, most people don't use it to spread love and healing. But I think music can make a social contribution if you're responsible with it.

- India Arie

Love, I Think, Use, Breathe

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.

- India Arie

Needs, Wanting, Took, Retire

I always pray when I write songs that my spirit guides, or whoever is with me, inspiring me, would let me speak the truth.

- India Arie

Spirit, Always, I Write, Guides

So many people have been abused. It's not rare; it's a very common human experience, and we survive.

- India Arie

Survive, Been, Very, Human Experience

You deal with what comes to you. If it's something you don't like, you deal with it the best you can. If it's something that you love, you rise to the occasion.

- India Arie

Love, Deal, Occasion, Rise

Saying things on paper that I would never, ever say, and saying things to myself, admitting things to myself, about myself and my personality, just putting it on paper, is how I deal with emotional pain.

- India Arie

Pain, Deal, Putting, Admitting

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.

- India Arie

Makeup, Some, Wear, Herself

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.

- India Arie

Celebrity, Break, Spell, Herself

I always loved music, but I didn't know if I could be the kind of artist that makes a difference.

- India Arie

Artist, Always, Could, If I Could

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.

- India Arie

Want, Wear, Makes, Different Colors

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.

- India Arie

Through, Your, Stevie Wonder, Wonder

I always have something by Stevie Wonder in my CD player.

- India Arie

Always, CD, Stevie, Wonder

It's important to have a place where you can recharge. Everybody's is different, but I do think it should entail quiet because it needs to be where you hear your spirit most clearly. For me, that's the prayer room in my apartment. And since my home is 700 square feet, I mean the coat closet near the front door.

- India Arie

Feet, Door, Everybody, Near

I'm really judgmental, especially about things that I feel make my life harder.

- India Arie

My Life, Feel, About, Harder

Nina Simone sacrificed so much to be as bold as she was about being black and about being female in an era where that could have cost her life.

- India Arie

Cost, Could, Nina Simone, Nina

Every once in a while, I find something that I'm interested in just because of the singing, like the Goo Goo Dolls.

- India Arie

Singing, Like, While, Dolls

In this era, soul is not a sound or a color: it's an intention.

- India Arie

Soul, Color, Era, Intention

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.

- India Arie

Cool, More, More People, Option

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.

- India Arie

Singing, Artist, Still, Female

Everything in my music has always been emotionally and spiritually motivated... But after I started doing yoga, the place where I came from changed drastically.

- India Arie

Doing, Always, Been, Drastically

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.

- India Arie

Decision, Chips, May, Conscious

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.

- India Arie

Soul, Commercial, Years, Acoustic

I didn't even listen to Bob Marley until I was 17.

- India Arie

Bob, Even, Until, None

Obviously, I've been heartbroken. We all know what that feels like.

- India Arie

Like, Been, Feels, Heartbroken

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

Love, Back, Oh God, Heaven

One of the things that helped me to be confident is to be the kind of musician that I respect. I always liked musicians who wrote their own songs, and so I started writing my own songs.

- India Arie

Always, One Of The Things, Helped

In hindsight, I feel like I made the right decision to choose production that would get played on black radio.

- India Arie

Decision, Like, Production, Right Decision

Denying any person their humanity is a game we should all stop playing.

- India Arie

Game, Stop, Person, Denying

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?

- India Arie

Voice, Muscular, Figure, Everybody Else

I'm not just making rhymes and making melodies. I'm expressing my true life force, energy.

- India Arie

Making, Melodies, Rhymes, Expressing

At 16, I started really loving country music, and Collin Raye just had the most amazing ballads!

- India Arie

Country, Most Amazing, Ballads

In my opinion, you just have to make the music. Make the music and work as hard as you can to get it out there.

- India Arie

Work, Music, In My Opinion, Opinion

Neo-soul is really less about a sound than it is about a look, in my opinion.

- India Arie

Sound, Than, In My Opinion, Opinion

It was challenging getting myself into the mindset to lose the weight. Once I got there, the weight dropped off quickly.

- India Arie

Myself, Lose, Mindset, Challenging

I think anyone who is ever on TV is a role model for somebody.

- India Arie

Think, TV, Ever, Model

I like being a role model - people have told me that I am a role model for empowered women, but I don't see myself that way.

- India Arie

Role Model, Role, Like, Model

You need to take care of you and fortify yourself and then move out to take care of others.

- India Arie

Need, Move, Take, Fortify

Just to keep myself balanced, I do things like yoga and meditation.

- India Arie

Myself, Like, Keep, Meditation

I don't really consider myself a teacher. I think - like, I have opinions like everyone else, and I just share my opinions.

- India Arie

Think, Like, I Think, Consider

I'm in show business, and I'm an entertainer, but I also see myself as an artist doing social and spiritual work.

- India Arie

Business, Doing, Artist, Entertainer

What I love about Christmas music is it stays around every year and comes back.

- India Arie

Love, Music, I Love, Stays

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.

- India Arie

Have Fun, Through, Always, Anymore

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.

- India Arie

Big, Like, Looked, Serious

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.

- India Arie

Radio, Back, Decided, Empowered

If we can just focus our attention where it matters, we can effect change.

- India Arie

Change, Matters, Effect, Attention

I know the things I say go out of my own mouth and into my own ears.

- India Arie

Mouth, Own, My Own, Ears

I've been trying to arrive at a person who is self-defined and able to make my own mistakes rather than having other people make them for me.

- India Arie

Other, Been, Having, Arrive

The thing that makes me feel most alive is knowing that there's something that I have to do that I'm afraid of.

- India Arie

Alive, Afraid, Most, Knowing

When it comes down to the song writing, I'm just very slow - very slow. Because the songs are about my life, so I'm doing emotional work on myself.

- India Arie

Song, My Life, Very, Songs

Basically, I listen to voices. If they write good songs and they can sing, I'll probably like it.

- India Arie

Like, Songs, Voices, Basically

For me, the healing process starts with graciousness and forgiveness.

- India Arie

Healing, Process, Starts

I feel like I'm always gonna sing and write songs because it's me.

- India Arie

Feel, Always, Like, Gonna

I write about my experiences, so a lot of times, I do write about people.

- India Arie

I Write, Lot, Times, Experiences

To spread love, healing, peace, and joy is my mission in life - and so I speak up.

- India Arie

Love, Healing, Mission, Spread

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.

- India Arie

Been, Very, Outside World, Seemed

There are a lot of men who like women with a brain.

- India Arie

Men, Like, Lot, Brain

I've always wanted my music to serve a certain purpose.

- India Arie

Music, Always, Wanted, Serve

Our food choices show up on our body.

- India Arie

Choices, Show, Up, Body

Everybody has their own path. I got mine.

- India Arie

Own, Everybody, Mine, Path

I know that I pray a lot, and I take time for myself.

- India Arie

Myself, Lot, Take, Pray

I don't want the world to get any worse. I want to make it better.

- India Arie

World, Better, Want, Worse

Sound is energy, and that energy resonates with your energy. And it gives you a certain feeling.

- India Arie

Feeling, Sound, Your, Resonates

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