P. J. Harvey Quotes

A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are.

I'm acting a lot when I'm writing for other people.

Ice Cube is the piece of me that I give away to the public.

I feel, as an artist, I should be able to express who I am and the things I come from, and the places I want to also be.

I did that Grammys thing - I did a little freeform poem.

I do not want to play a character who is exactly like me.

If I can only be known as one thing, then, well, I guess it would be poet and performer and teacher.

When people give you a writing assignment, they're asking what you think. That's the very opposite of being an actor. When you're an actor, no one wants to hear what you think.

I'm the artist when I'm doing music that I am when I'm acting. I'm everything.

There are different sides to me; I wanted to make a personal film but I would not want to make any film that does not reflect me in it. At least, not right now. I'm just too young to be doing that.

I'm not running for office. I just want people to come to my stuff and escape and see me as a character, not as anything else.

If people want to know who I am, it is all in the work.

I've always been super expressive, and I've always liked to express myself any way I can.

There's a reason I live in the Maine woods, where nobody knows what I do for a living. I think you can be better if someone who's coming to see you perform has no idea who you really are.

If you're going to pretend to be somebody you're not - which is the whole point of being a rock star - then why not just invent fake characters and have them do it all for you?

A rap dude has his rap persona, his hyper version of himself. Do you know Method Man's real name? Or Elton John, Marylin Monroe? You make up this character. That's kind of what we have done with Die Antwoord, playing with characters.

Most drag queens, they put on music like it's a costume. It's not in their bones. It's not in their background.

My band persona is 25% tougher than I am.

All you have to offer as a performer is yourself.

We are all doing drag. Every single person on this planet is doing it.

I don't really know if I am thought of as a style icon. I don't feel like that at all. Music comes first, but I also just enjoy being creative in whatever I'm doing, be it wearing clothes, making images, or performing.

When I started making music, I figured the name Rico Nasty would give a background of who I am.

I think I'm just doing me, my music, my shows, and my stories.

I would advise puppeteering for any artist. It's a way to break down pretensions. It's a sculpture that can talk. It's a painting that can talk. And it's pure play. I think every artist needs to stay in touch with the idea of playing. The artist should always be playing, always. All art is performance.

Writing is a good example of self-abandonment. I never completely forget myself except when I am writing and I am never more completely myself than when I am writing.