My father's Peruvian! I actually have a lot of family in Cuzco. I'm also Swiss, Alaskan, French, Spanish and Italian. Qorianka Kilcher Cuzco • Family • Father • French • Italian • Lot • Peruvian • Spanish • Swiss Alaskan French
If Pocahontas had been given the foresight to see what devastating consequences her actions and belief in the possibility of peace would have brought upon her people, I wonder if she would have avoided befriending the English or not. Qorianka Kilcher Actions • Consequences • Devastating Consequences • Foresight • Peace • People • Pocahontas • Possibility • She • Wonder
In Peru, if you gave somebody a little chance to do something, they took it to the furthest extent. They took nothing for granted. And here in L.A., you kind of get caught up in your own little dilemmas and your own little life. Qorianka Kilcher Chance • Furthest Extent • Kind • Life • Little Chance • Little Dilemmas • Nothing • Own • Peru • Something • You
I always wanted to be a singer, and so, when I was 5 years old, I started acting classes so I could be a better performer. I wanted to have a powerful voice so I could be heard. Qorianka Kilcher Acting • Better • Classes • Powerful • Powerful Voice • Singer • Voice • Years • Years Old
The things I do, I do from the heart and out of love and respect for our planet and all living things. And I draw my courage from my love for justice and truth, and I calm my fears by comforting those who are more scared than me. And I try to do my best to make the world a better place, one small action at a time, as good as I can. Qorianka Kilcher Action • Best • Better Place One • Courage • Fears • Good • Heart • Justice • Love • Planet • Things • Time • Truth
Yes, I'm proud to be indigenous. I'm half-Quechua-Huachipaeri from Peru. Qorianka Kilcher HalfQuechuaHuachipaeri • Indigenous • Peru • Proud • Yes
I just want to learn even more about my culture and about the Algonquin culture because I fell in love with Pocahontas and the Algonquin tribe. Qorianka Kilcher Algonquin • Culture • Learn • Love • More • Tribe • Want
I prefer home-schooling because you can work at your own pace and go towards more what you're interested in, whether it be history or geography or math. Qorianka Kilcher Geography • Go • History • Homeschooling • Interested • Own • Pace • Towards • Work • You
I love the power of celebrity because you can give voice to the voiceless. Qorianka Kilcher Celebrity • Give • Love • Power • Voice • Voiceless • You
Portraying Pocahontas' story well was important to me because she was a real person and these were real events in her life. Qorianka Kilcher Events • Her • Important • Life • Me • Portraying Pocahontas Story • Real Person • She • Story
Here in L.A., you kind of get stuck in your own little dilemmas and your own little life, and hearing a story like Pocahontas' reminds you there's a bigger world out there, and there are so many more important things in life. Qorianka Kilcher Important • Kind • Life • Little Dilemmas • Story • World • You
I used to have all these plans and think 'Ah, I have my whole life figured out', but then I realized no matter how much I plan: life happens! So I find myself living day to day trying to do my best, embracing every moment as a learning opportunity and chance to get to know myself a little more. Qorianka Kilcher Ah • Best • Day • Learning • Life • Opportunity • Whole Life
'Firelight' is a beautiful story about a lot of young women. My character, Caroline, is a girl who has a bad boyfriend, and he ends up getting her locked up and incarcerated. Qorianka Kilcher Bad • Beautiful • Beautiful Story • Character • Character Caroline • Firelight • Girl • Lot • Story • Women • Young Women
Instead of locking people up and throwing away the key, it's important to invest in them and show them another way – show them what they can do, instead of telling them what they can't do. Because by investing in youth, we're investing into the future of this great nation of the United States of America. Qorianka Kilcher Future • Great • Great Nation • Important • Key • Locking People • People • United States • Way • Youth
My birthday is Feb. 11, and I'm both excited and not excited by it. You'll never be 15 again, and you really, really need to savor every day like it's your last. Qorianka Kilcher Birthday • Day • Every Day • Excited • Feb • Last • Need • You
I know that might sound silly coming from someone my age, but I remember on my 14th birthday having a crisis like my mom should be having. I kept thinking that I was getting older, and I haven't really accomplished anything. I remember thinking that I better accomplish something real soon. Qorianka Kilcher Accomplish Something Real • Age • Anything • Birthday • Getting Older • Mom • Older • Silly • Someone
You need people around you that care about you and are thinking about you in your best interest. And keep your mind straight. Qorianka Kilcher Best • Best Interest • Care • Mind • People • Straight • Thinking • You
I honestly think I was an Indian living in the time of the Trail of Tears. Something like that. Every time I read books about back then, I get so devastatingly sad, so, so… I feel such a deep connection to it. Qorianka Kilcher Books • Deep • Devastatingly Sad • Every Time • Indian • Living • Sad • Something • Tears • Think • Time • Trail
I lose film roles because I'm a person who doesn't keep quiet about certain things. But if my heart tells me something is wrong, I'm going to go and do something about it. Qorianka Kilcher Certain Things • Film Roles • Heart • Heart Tells • Lose • Me • Person • Quiet • Something • Wrong
Films are very influential, and I especially feel a responsibility to tell stories that have been pushed aside. Being able to shed light on issues that need to be brought to the world. Qorianka Kilcher Able • Aside • Feel • Influential • Issues • Light • Need • Responsibility • Shed Light • Stories • World
I feel like, as a celebrity, I have a responsibility to tell important stories. Qorianka Kilcher Celebrity • Feel • Important • Important Stories • Responsibility • Tell
I grew up doing a lot of traveling. My mom left home when she was 15 and traveled to 48 different countries and speaks six different languages. So I grew up with my eyes open. She raised me so that if my heart says something is wrong, I have to go help. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. Qorianka Kilcher Different Countries • Doing • Eyes • Heart • Heart Says Something • Home • Languages • Lot • Me • Mom • Open • Right • Wrong
I really identified with Pocahontas' struggles as a young woman trying to identify herself in a modern, changing world and trying to stay true to her culture and heritage. Qorianka Kilcher Culture • Her • Identify Herself • Modern • Pocahontas Struggles • True • Trying • Woman • World • Young Woman
I think it's important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven't had the right mentors and supporters around them – because of circumstances beyond their control. Qorianka Kilcher Important • Justice • Juvenile Justice Systems • Remember • Society • Time • Us • Youth
I'm always writing and learning. It's about growth. So I'm growing as a musician, as a guitarist. D'Angelo Growing • Growth • Guitarist • Learning • Musician • Writing
You have to know the forces that are against you and that are trying to break you down. We talk about the problems facing the black community: the decimation of the black family; the mass incarceration of the black man; we're talking about the brutality against black people from the police. The educational system. D'Angelo Black • Community • Decimation • Facing • Family • Forces • Incarceration • Man • Mass • People • Police • Problems
I learned at an early age that what we were doing in the choir was just as important as the preacher. It was a ministry in itself. We could stir the pot, you know? D'Angelo Age • Choir • Doing • Early • Early Age • Important • Itself • Know • Ministry • You
The thing with me is, about that – about rock and all that – years and years of crate-digging, listening to old music, you kind of start to connect the dots. And I was seeing the thread that was connecting everything together, which is pretty much the blues. And everything soul or funk kind of starts with that. D'Angelo Blues • Connection • Cratedigging Listening • Everything • Funk • Kind • Me • Much • Music • Old • Old music • Pretty • Rock • Rock Music • Soul • Start • Thing • Thread • Years
The music business is a crazy game, especially for somebody like me who is really a purist about the art. Trying to balance the pressures of commercialism, it's a tightrope. It's a fine line between sticking to your guns and insanity. D'Angelo Art • Balance • Between • Business • Commercialism • Crazy • Fine • Game • Guns • Line • Me • Music • Pressures • Purist • Somebody • Tightrope
I grew up teaching parts to choirs, and I love a whole group of voices singing as one. D'Angelo Choirs • Group • Love • One • Parts • Singing • Up • Voices • Whole
Aretha Franklin was as important to the civil-rights movement as Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Artists can choose to take on the tremendous amount of responsibility we have, or choose to ignore it. D'Angelo Aretha • Artists • Civilrights • Franklin • Ignore • Important • Malcolm • Movement • Responsibility • Take • Tremendous Amount
I think it just takes one little snowflake to start a snowball to go down the hill. My contribution and, say, Kendrick Lamar's and some chosen others' start the snowball. That's all I can hope for. I don't know if I'm comfortable being quote-unquote a leader. D'Angelo Comfortable • Contribution • Down • Hope • Kendrick Lamar • Know • Leader • Little • One • Others • Snowball • Snowflake • Start • Think
When I was young, I had an 'aha' moment in church. There was a thing called testimony service, and somebody would sing a song, and everyone else would join in, finding a note where they fit. During one of those, a light went on in my head. In that moment, I heard everything – Parliament, the Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Prince – in there. D'Angelo Aha • Called • Church • Curtis • Everyone • Everything • Finding • Head • Light • Moment • Prince • Service • Singers • Song • Staple • Testimony • Thing • Young
The stage is our pulpit, and you can use all of that energy and that music and the lights and the colors and the sound. But you know, you've got to be careful. D'Angelo Careful • Colors • Energy • Know • Lights • Music • Pulpit • Stage • You
I've always kind of tried to do something that was a little different than just simple 'I love you, baby'-type songs. D'Angelo Different • I Love You • Kind • Little • Love • Simple • Something • You
Coming up, the music of my era was very conscious. I grew up on Public Enemy, and it was popular culture to be aware. People were wearing Malcolm X T-shirts and Malcolm X hats. It was a very cool thing to know who Malcolm X was. It was all in the lyrics. It was trendy to be conscious and aware. D'Angelo Aware • Conscious • Cool • Cool Thing • Culture • Hats • Know • Lyrics • Malcolm • Music • People • Popular • Public • Trendy • Tshirts
I played a lot of keyboards, but I really wanted to produce the sound that was in my head that I was trying to emulate on the keys. I wanted to do it for real. And it makes me look at the keys in a different way. So it's like I'm looking at the guitar and bass more like meat and potatoes and keys like coloring over top of it, you know. D'Angelo Different Way • Guitar • Head • Keyboards • Keys • Look • Looking • Lot • Me • Real • Sound • Trying • You
Just about the entirety of the first album, 'Brown Sugar,' I wrote it, the majority of that record in my bedroom in Richmond. And all of the demos for it were done on a four-track in my bedroom. I think EMI was a little leery of me being in the studio producing it on my own, which is what I was fighting for. D'Angelo Album • Bedroom • Brown • Demos • Done • EMI • Entirety • Fighting • First • Fourtrack • Leery • Little • Majority • Me • My Own • Record • Studio Producing • Sugar • Think
I'm kinda a first take dude. The first time, cut that mic on, and the spirit is there, and what comes on the mic – I mean, even if I'm mumbling, I like to keep a lot of that initial thing that comes out. Cause that's the spirit. D'Angelo Dude • First • First Time • Mean • Mic • Spirit • Time
I love – you know, I'm a big fan of Prince and Curtis Mayfield and Smoky Robinson. It's something to be said about a man who can be very masculine but still display that sensitive side, and that falsetto does it perfectly. D'Angelo Big • Big Fan • Display • Know • Love • Man • Masculine • Prince • Said • Sensitive • Side • Something • You
I think shortly after I got signed, it just started to dawn on me that I had something to say and that Yahweh put something in my heart to share with the world. D'Angelo Dawn • Heart • Me • Say • Something • Think • World
Prince, you never knew what to expect from him from one album to the next. Miles Davis was like that. You know, once you get used to one style, boom, he switched it and, you know, switched gears on you. So those artists are very exciting to me, very exciting to follow their path, you know, and their journey. D'Angelo Album • Artists • Boom • Exciting • Expect • Gears • Journey • Know • Me • Miles • Next • Once • One • Path • Prince • Style • You
It's about people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in Occupy Wall Street and in every place where a community has had enough and decides to make change happen. It's not about praising one charismatic leader but celebrating thousands of them… 'Black Messiah' is not one man. It's a feeling that, collectively, we are all that leader. D'Angelo Black Messiah • Change • Collectively • Community • Egypt • Every Place • Feeling • Leader • Man • Occupy Wall • One Charismatic Leader • People • Thousands
‘Black Messiah’ is a hell of a name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood. Many will think it’s about religion. Some will jump to the conclusion that I’m calling myself a Black Messiah. For me, the title is about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah. D'Angelo Album • Aspire • Black Messiah • Conclusion • Hell • Idea • Many • Misunderstood • Name • Religion • Title • Us • World
Qorianka Kilcher
D'Angelo
