Quotes About Artists

I'm doing what all modern artists do now, which is nothing - just sit around and dream about things. I'll do what they call 'the stroke of genius.'

A lot of artists think they want anger. But a real, strong, bitter anger occupies the mind, leaving no room for creativity.

Some of our strongest critics, especially inside the church, said we had turned our backs on traditional gospel music and were just contemporary R&B artists exploiting Christian lyrics for the money. But that's not true.

I was born in the '80s, so I don't really remember it very strongly, but the music is so iconic. And so those artists - Madonna, Prince, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston - you still hear those songs all the time. And there's such a distinctive style - the clothes, the shoulder pads, the big hair, the perm.

In terms of what influenced me, I grew up on The Beatles, and I always was struck by their dry British sense of humor.

There's just so many great artists out there, but I think growing up, J. Cole has been the guy that I've always been listening to, even in college. Going from that struggle to stardom, that rise to stardom, 'Dolla and a Dream,' all that stuff - I've listened to all his classics, all the old J. Cole stuff.

We have always been dreamers, and we are admittedly overachievers, and coming out of high school, we didn't want to be struggling artists.

People expect artists to be too normal, I think. I've been around enough of them now to see that they're very extraordinary human beings who behave differently than ordinary human beings. If they weren't as sensitive as they are, they wouldn't be great artists. They are not the same as us. People should just learn to accept that.

For me, it's always an organic process. I don't personally reach out to artists without the music being created first.

Even though it's called Music Of Black Origin, it's not just music for black people. Music is for everybody. I think it's good that black music is acknowledged, and it's open for lots of artists, including white artists who have been inspired by black musical heritage.

And obviously, when I started out, I had a little bit more curiosity than some, and went seeking out the original artists, or in some cases searching up country music.

There's not a lot of pretty, young female artists that's out. It's a lot of talent out there, but they don't know how to go about it. I feel like there should be way more sexier women in hip-hop and R&B then it is - more originality.

I'm really excited because Interscope is really focused on artists. They've been working side by side with me creatively and allowing me to make a lot of the creative decisions, which you don't always hear about. That's why I didn't want to sign originally with a major label.

Actors are rogues and vagabonds. Or they ought to be.

We've influenced other artists, and when younger generations become fans of those artists and hear about us, they discover our music too.

For a lot of artists in the entertainment industry, we can't become too jaded with what's going on with our personal lives and still not be connected with our people.

Every artist can make art only from the materials at hand, and many of the child stars who try to mature into artists can make art only from their knowledge - and ours - that they were child stars.

I don't want artists to find themselves in a situation where there are only two buyers. That just doesn't seem like a good outcome.

Something impacts me emotionally, art is a kind of outlet, and I figure it's the same for a lot of artists. The way my mind deals with things is cinematic.

The music industry needs a TV outlet for hip-hop fans and artists.

I really love when music artists like Lady Gaga or Michael Jackson wear outrageous things. Obviously, if I wore something like that I'd look like an idiot, but I really respect fashion.

Brandy is one of my favorite vocalists. Jay-Z is my favorite emcee outside of Biggie.

You think about the artists I look at as icons, and you assume they were instantly embraced. That's usually not the case. In reality, they had to overcome a lot of noes to get where they wanted to be.

I've had a lot of hurdles to overcome in my musical journey, but since coming onto the scene with 5SOS, we've really had to fight to be respected as genuine artists.