I'm a Pisces, so I'm a very closed-book kind of person.

I'm a complete human being. I'm very emotional and loving. I feel, I hurt, I give, I take, and also I think. I analyze. I'm a sociologist, anthropologist.

What does music mean to me? I don't think I would really be much without it, without it coming through me. It's my means of communication, my means of growth, my means of transportation from one point in my life to another.

Being honest is my job. That's what music is for me.

But now I realize that this record business really needs me. No one else is trying to take a chance or do something different.

Hopefully my music is medicine, some type of antidote for something or some kind of explanation or just to feel good.

I can be Erykah the human being more than the celebrity.

I don't read music or anything, so when I produce, I go basically by ear.

I grew up listening to old soul.

I love being an entertainer - not really fond of being a celebrity.

I love putting the music together. It's like art.

I love to leave the interpretation of my music up to the listener. It's fun to see what they'll say it is.

I started performing at two or three on a tape recorder, one of those little flat recorders where you just push play and record.

I'm a performance artist first; I'm a recording artist second.

I'm a woman who has gone through many heartaches, enough to dedicate my whole life to trying to figure them out.

I'm kind of a recluse when it comes to going outside.

I've had two children. I've had three boyfriends. I've had a lot of things happen that can change your opinions and values and philosophies.

Marvin Gaye is one of my favorite revolutionaries. He spoke from his heart, his mind. That's what I want to do.

No one chooses to raise children alone.

The kind of music or the kind of arrangements that I do, the kind of musicians I choose, is just what I like to hear.