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I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in.

I have a lot of respect for all the artists I get compared to, even if, as an artist, you prefer to have your own identity.

I think the most important thing for an artist is to not worry about what anybody else thinks. You just have to do what comes from your heart and your being and put it out there-that's true in any of the arts.

I'm really interested in social justice, and if an artist has a certain power of being heard and voicing something important, it's right to do it. It could still be done in such a way that it's not aggressive or overly didactic. I'm trying to find that form.

The most important thing for me as an artist is having an identity.

I tend to think of all the songs the same - I give them all kind of equal rights.

Not all artists have a responsibility to be socially or politically aware, but they do have a responsibility to make great art. They have to find some truth and put that in their music.

I do support artists standing by their beliefs and walking with integrity. We have to find a better way to commercially exploit music while giving artists their proper respect. This cannot be done while taking their contributions for granted or trying to control the scope of their growth and power through threats and fear tactics.

More and more, I think about the role of the arts, and as an artist, I think that it's important that I share the love and peace.

There's not really too many artists that young girls and young people can look up to and be inspired by. So I take it as my responsibility, sometimes, to be the person who has the voice to give people some truth about what we're doing.