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When I originally came from 'Cheetah Girls,' I was making music that was real to me but not believable. I think there was a disconnect there. I am a grown woman, and I've been through a lot. The most important thing about my music is that we don't jump the gun and throw anything out there.

I hear music as narrative.

I still feel the impulse to give young writers a hearing, and I believe I have played more unpublished compositions than any other band leader in the country.

Some music comes from a real place; some music comes from your imagination. It's difficult to find out what's real and what's not, especially with the gangster stuff.

There are so many things that are misunderstood or not recognized about my father's music because they've been filtered by people who work for magazines like Rolling Stone.

I found a certain kind of music congenial to me; it never occurred to me to write music that was academically acceptable.

I wasn't making music consciously when I was younger. I was a musician, but that has its own stigmas. Anywhere on the planet, it's one of the more undervalued positions.

The music industry is a world of smoke and mirrors: they tell you exactly what they think you want to hear. And they are bare-faced lying. I tend to stay away from that.