I'm definitely inspired by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Lauryn Hill.
I grew up listening to a lot of soul music, and a lot of folk music.
I listen to everything from The Cure and The Clash to Prince and George Clinton.
I grew up on R&B and soul, so that backbone is always there.
Disco is just jitterbug.
My dad liked a lot of Motown, but I didn't listen to it until my teenage years.
I was a huge Beatles fan. The Stones, Dylan. Later on, I got into Stevie Wonder, and Bill Withers - he's one of my heroes. Al Green, too.
I've always gravitated towards the beats, obviously. And when I was growing up, I always loved funk music or even - dare I say it - disco.
I grew up listening to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and lots of blues, R&B and Motown.
I was raised on Marvin Gaye. Before I knew Babyface or anyone else, I knew Marvin Gaye. My mother played Marvin Gaye.
One night all the James Brown band was playing on stage and I look in the back and I could see Mick Jagger and Keith Richards trying to get in the club and they couldn't get in cause it was to crowded.
I like African music but also R&B, rap, alternative rock, and classic.
Prince got some Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix and Sly in him, also, even Little Richard. He's a mixture of all those guys and Duke Ellington.
I started listening to old school R&B artists like Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, and Donny Hathaway when I was in 6th grade.
I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.
I still love R&B - I kind of literally listen to everything.
I usually listen to surf music, not much instrumental music, and when I was younger I listened to jazz.
My primary influences were the best jazz players from the 50's and 60's and later some of the pop people from the same time period along with the better of the well known blues musicians.
You know, jazz is the mother of all American music. R&B and pop and rap and everything are the branches on the main tree of the life of music, American music, which is jazz.
Before hip-hop existed, we were listening to soul songs from the '70s. I grew up with Motown, Elton John, and the Beatles. To me, that's good music.
I'm touched by the Beatles. I want some of the music I do to reflect that. Here I am. I love Sly Stone and James Brown and Stevie Wonder, and I want my music to reflect some of that. Here I am. I'm touched by Jon Hendricks. I want some of my music to reflect that. And when I write, you're going to hear it.
Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.
I always loved James Brown, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke.
From a musical standpoint, I was inspired by '90s hip hop, with a lot of drums and the tempos. I'm always inspired by David Bowie and Prince.
I get a lot of my inspiration from the Jackson 5 and Luther Vandross.
