A Quote by Labrinth

I definitely didn't wanna be a one-dimensional artist that you can just put into one box. Because, to me, we're all masters of certain energies, and we all create different colours.
Am I one part R&B? Sure, but I'm also part soulful, and I'm old school funk, I'm pop, I'm rock, I'm hip hop, I'm all of those things. I don't wanna be categorized or labeled as just one thing. Don't put me in the box because I'll break out of the box.
I think that, right now, I am travelling in many different directions in my mind, on where I wanted to be. So much is wantin' to go back, but I still gotta move forward. But I think it's just that I'm my worst critic at all times, you know? And when I make somethin', it may be five or ten cuts later before I actually call it what it is. I've always been that kind of artist. I'm gonna put myself through the sweat for it, because I think, as an artist, that's what made me iller, is the fact that I didn't wanna just put out anything and everything. It's just a process, you know what I mean?
No artist is one-dimensional. I get the sense that if I push myself now and if I create a million different-sounding songs - I just feel that's going to be such a set-up for my ability in the future.
I left Jamaica for a while, because as an artist I need to experience different things, see the world, have different energies. Living in one place is not good for me.
I just kinda do what I feel. I never knew what lane I would fill, [or that] I would fill a lane at all. I didn't even really contemplate that far down the road. I just started having fun, and a lot of that came from me seeing Wayne dare to be different, and I started feeling like I can be a multifaceted rapper. I don't have to be a one-dimensional female rapper. Once I put that in perspective, it was like everything just got easier for me, because I no longer wanted to fit in anybody's box... I just wanted to be Nicki.
I never put myself in that box of you're an Oscar winner so you can only do this or that. That's one award, one night, and it does not define my career or it does not define me as an artist. I never wanted to get put in that Oscar box because that's a lonely place to be.
The Masters is not greedy. You wanna buy a Masters souvenir logo shirt? Sure, let's go over to the nearest Ralph Lauren boutique. Oops, you can only purchase Masters memorabilia at the Masters, this one week of the year.
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with different planets in the solar system, and I used to create, for every single planet, a different alien race with a certain kind of pet, a certain kind of house, a certain kind of water system, and everything. I would draw these pictures. I had hundreds of these pictures in a box.
They are born, put in a box; they go home to live in a box; they study by ticking boxes; they go to what is called "work" in a box, where they sit in their cubicle box; they drive to the grocery store in a box to buy food in a box; they talk about thinking "outside the box"; and when they die they are put in a box.
Being singer/songwriter implies versatility and being able to create more than one medium, and R&B artist is a box, simple as that. It is 'that's what you do, that's what you are', and that's a little unfair, to me, because I don't just do that. So I like singer/songwriter because it allows me to move a little bit more freely.
At first, I felt like I was put into this box because I played hockey. I thought that I was viewed a certain way, and I shouldn't wear certain clothes. Finally, I stepped aside and said, 'That's someone else's creation of me. I can be feminine and be strong.'
The key to me is being different not for the sake of being different, but being the most authentic version of what you do. And definitely it takes a willingness to be different, because there was resistance for me early on, and I feel like that's usually the case when there's a certain paradigm or trend happening, and you step outside of that.
I make all types of music. People wanna put me in a little box, and they get mad when I don't stay in there.
So I got a lot of music because it's all different. I'm not just one side. I wanna show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. I wanna be as truthful as I can because I love music.
Growing up, Tina Turner was definitely one of my influences, and, um, I take things from different artists, and I put them in my music, and I put them in my persona and my - they help me form into the artist that I am, so - for people to actually hear that come through the music is exciting.
For just being a black artist in rock n' roll and be able to step outside and create, and make great music. And just be different. Just a different breed. And that's what I love about Jimi Hendrix's music - the way he plays the guitar is so different. He's just an icon all around.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!