"what I'm trying to do is de-doucheify him so that he comes off as somebody that you hopefully like and root for and understand why she would be with him."
"I think there's something really valuable about building this space for Black musicians and also to inspire the next generation of of creatives to say, you can do something different, too."
"I want to try to find the spirituality behind Coltrane's playing. I want to copy the feeling that he had back at this time because that's what's truly sticks out."
"It does make you think about your own desire for money or need for money. I mean, how much is is regarded as a feasible amount? How much becomes no longer really morally right."
"I challenge anyone to have to do this particular task with anything and not have strange empathy for the person they've been putting into their head."
"I don't think I'm ever going to really process how truly profound all of this is. I don't think anything will ever top that. How could it possibly?"
"I am really interested in living in a way that helps other people be better. But I have to help myself be better. Composing is just the whole apparatus for that."
"I've experienced love. I've experienced loss. And I do have a subtext for every piece. But I always ask myself who is J'Nai in this?"
"When it's done correctly, it's completely rewarding because it's the essence of him and the essence of his work as a choreographer and as a performer. I hope I managed to capture that and put it on the stage."
"I feel like my place in a business like this is to show you that what you look like as a person will never matter more than what it is you can create as an artist."
Advertisement
Newsletter
Sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date on cultural events in and around Los Angeles.