The true beauty of music is that it connects people.
I was being an artist, being sensitive and technical as artists are. I’m sure Leonardo Da Vinci did that. Artists don’t always feel the same as others feel about their work.
I generally sell my records online or at the show. You can undersell the distributor and the stores, and people know what they’re getting cause they’ve just seen you live.
The majors, they have to control the distribution, the record outlets, the radio and, in some cases, even the venues. And downloading and pirating have also put pressure on the majors.
When I was recording from ’70 to ’82, I always played piano and laid the tracks down. But I used to talk to the other musicians while the track was playing.
Some people really trip on success or popularity. My friends would talk to me about that, about tripping on all this stuff, but you know what I tripped on? I started buying property.
Only a certain number of people go to a store over the period of a year. When a person sees my record on the shelf, it eliminates someone else’s record from being sold. It’s about continuing to try to find new ways to sell records.
I always had this energy level that made me want to come to New York.
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.