I'm sorry that I did not become the world's first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.

You've got to learn to leave the table When love's no longer being served".

I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.

What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did.

You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.

Life is short. People are not easy to know. They're not easy to know, so if you don't tell them how you feel, you're not going to get anywhere, I feel.

You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.

Talent is a burden not a joy. I am not of this planet. I do not come from you. I am not like you.

How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to express it

There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.

Slavery has never been abolished from America's way of thinking.

There is much that I do not know and I'd like to know even less.

A leader does not reduce his speeds to meet the views of negative thinkers. He leaves them to do their job as he focuses.

Travelling, he'd always thought, was where he'd meet his other self. Somewhere in a foreign place, he would bump into the bit of himself which was lost.

There's a sadness to the human condition that I think music is good for. It gives a counterpoint to the visual beauty, and adds depth to pictures that they wouldn't have if the music wasn't there.

Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can involve changing diet to include more fresh fruit and vegetables as well as increasing levels of exercise.

Free labor has the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope.

Our young people look up to us. Let us not let them down. Our young people need us. Saving them will make heroes of us all.

There's so much more to life than looking a certain way.

I haven't paid for anything since I became famous.

Anti-aging is an extremely under-explored field.