When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's this idea that because I'm black, I just look a certain way.
When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's just [an] idea that because I'm black I just look a certain way.
When someone asks me about violence, I just find it incredible, because what it means is that the person who’s asking that question has absolutely no idea what black people have gone through, what black people have experienced in this country, since the time the first black person was kidnapped from the shores of Africa.
It's superficial that people think I'm cool because I wear certain clothes and I have tattoos. The funniest part is, when they get to know me, they're always surprised by how nerdy I am.
I'm aware that most people who meet me for the first time think of me in a certain way because of who my father is. That just comes with the territory. But that's been that way ever since I was a little kid as long as I can remember. I grew up that way.
I am surprised by how not-adopted the video reply has been. What keeps other people from doing it, I think, is that they think a video comes across as 'I'm cool, look at how many e-mails I get.' That perception doesn't scare me, because I know who I am.
Just because I am a Muslim doesn't mean that I need to live in a certain way and sport a certain look.
For most women, whether you're an actress or whatever you do, there is this pressure in society and within the world to look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way, say certain things, and be this idea as opposed to being a person.
My father identified as a black man. No one asked him because he was clearly black. But people always ask me. If we were together, people would look at us in a really strange way. It sucked. As a little girl I had blond hair and they'd look at me, look at him, and be disgusted.
I've always refused to buy into the idea that I should look a certain way. People say I don't conform to the idea of what an actress should look like, but I am what I am and that's fine.
I think everybody's got a presentation. Everybody looks a certain way because they want to convey a certain image. You look a certain way because you want people to listen to you in a certain way.
I don't have an inspiration, I don't have a role model. I like to meet different people and gain something from their experiences and their lives. I take inspiration and worth through what they've gone through. I don't have one person I look up to always, apart from the person that I am, if that makes sense. I just look up to the person that I was yesterday and I just try to better myself whichever way I can.
I've talked about tall poppy syndrome when I see people. I used to be like, 'Why am I feeling this way? What is that person taking from me that makes me feel inadequate?' That same feeling you feel when you feel uncomfortable because people start talking about racism, lean into that feeling, don't just look away from it, because you can't pretend.
As a black person I am no stranger to prejudice. But the truth is that in the political world I have been far more often discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.
My music confuses people because they think I will sound a certain way because I look a certain way with the dreads.
I am for Obama, all the way. I dont support Obama just because he is a black man; I support him because he is an educated black man. He is making black people proud.
I feel fortunate that I've had a lot of songs recorded by other people, because I take my songwriting very seriously. It's only those people that have followed me over the years and really know my work that know how serious I am about all of it - including the way I look. You can't take my high heels from me, you can't have my long fingernails, you can't take all this hair from me, because it's part of this thing that I've become. I wouldn't want to give any of it up. Do I have to be ugly to be a songwriter? This is the way I am, and it's what I choose to be.