Music doesn’t come out of you, it comes through you. You are almost like a messenger. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
One of the things I did learn from ‘The Epic’ was that we don’t have to feel so much pressure to conform to set formats. A song doesn’t have to be three minutes and 30 seconds. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
When I was working on ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ and ‘DAMN.,’ I’m really making music for Kendrick. It’s a different mindset than when I’m making music for me. I’m trying to get into his head and figure out what he wants because it’s his vision. That’s what I expect from people when they’re playing on my records. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
We started ‘Heaven And Earth’ in 2016. That was probably the heaviest touring year of my whole life. We probably did almost 200 shows in 2016. We went into the studio, and I honestly didn’t know what the album was going to be. So I just kind of started picking songs that I liked. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
We learned at a young age, with our dad, that even if you weren’t doing something, you had to look like you were, or some hard labor was coming your way. That’s the reason I started practicing music – when I was practicing, Pops left me alone. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
When I was about seventeen, I had a group called the Young Jazz Giants. We played all originals. When we would finish playing, people would be like, ‘Oh my God, that was so nice, that was so great.’ But Pops would never tell us we were the best. He would give it to us straight, like, ‘You’re out of tune. You’re dropping beats.’ Kamasi Washington Read Quote
I think the reason why I see life as this never-ending struggle is because I imagine it having endless potential. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
I don’t want to live my life to necessarily overcome struggle, but when I am going to hit struggle throughout my life, I face it head on. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m just taking the music that comes to me and trying to make it as beautiful as I can. You can’t really predict or control how people will receive that music. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
By the time I was about 15, I was out playing gigs and knew I was going to be a musician. Kamasi Washington Read Quote
