Quote

American music culture is black culture.

I think music is one of the hero/sheroes of the African-American existence.

Society wants to categorize everything, but to me it's all African-American music.

Just because I grew up a white guy in America doesn't mean that's the music of my life.

A whole generation of young whites have involved themselves with traditional Negro music.

Since the age of 12, all my musical thinking has been influenced by Afro-American music.

Negro music and culture are intrinsically improvisational, existential. Nothing is sacred. After a decade, a musical idea, no matter how innovative, is threatened.

It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective sentimentality limits their understanding of it, that the Negro in America has been able to tell his story.

I don't think I'm really so unique. If every black person looked at their life they would quickly discover that they have been influenced by every type of music prevalent in America.

First of all, the music that people call Latin or Spanish is really African. So Black people need to get the credit for that.