K. Flay Quotes

"I've always had a duck personality. Calm above water, feet going crazy below."

"A college degree is not essential, but if you're already in college, and if it's at all possible, you should definitely try to finish. In college, you have a very supportive community right there, and it can give you opportunities to try out new things."

"My songs are a mix of my own weird raised-by-wolves perspective and civilization."

"As an independent artist, you control the means of production, which is the ultimate form of empowerment."

"Most of the people at my headline shows are in their 20s, but it varies a ton: like, I've had a six-year-old hug my leg after the show and a 60-year-old shake my hand. It's cool to see people connecting with the music across different generations."

"I think, on the rap side of life, I've always been inspired by and respected Missy Elliott for a long time. She's funny and created an image for herself that was non-sexualized but was really interesting and really cool and really kind of avant-garde in a lot of ways."

"A lot of people don't even listen to albums start to finish, but I do - for sure."

"I went in reverse with this whole thing. People I've toured with were kids who consumed as much hip-hop as they could. I didn't do that until I started rapping."

"There's something distinct and interesting about a live performance. There's this weird immediacy that's, for me, really invigorating, and it just feels really rewarding."

"I was always very academically focused when I was growing up, and music was something for which I really had no preconceptions or expectations for myself or really any rules. It kind of represented, at least for me, a divergent path of creativity and self-discovery."

"I think the key for any kind of artist - and this transcends music - is a certain degree of authenticity and sincerity."

"I think, no matter what, when you're writing songs, most people write about the extremes of their experiences."

"The more I talk to people who are at a place I'd like to be at, whether its music or writing, or being a doctor or entrepreneur, sometimes you get lucky, and right away something happens. But for most people, the common denominator of success is just working really hard."

"The one thing that I've always kind of had, ever since I was a kid, was that I lack a certain degree of self-consciousness, which is alternately good and bad."

"It's like there's this boldness that I have where I'm driven by something that I can't name."

"When I first signed to RCA, I was sort of excited and shocked that it was happening. But over the next couple of years, it really started to feel like that game you play when you're a little kid - the one where you put your nose on a bat and then spin around and try to walk."

"My sound is, at its core, a mix of things. Definitely an imperfect mix, but one that incorporates elements of the music I love - a bit of indie rock, super rhythmic rapping, and lots of synths."

"I know that in my own mind, I struggle with a desire to be both entirely absent and entirely present in any given moment."

"I'm a big advocate of revisions, of living with something for a month and then realizing what needs changing, what was lazy, what could be better."

"Remixes are so much fun. For me, it's like this great release of energy. I like producing stuff for myself, but I also enjoy making music that wouldn't really suit my own vibe."

"I love playing in Chicago. It's the memory lane hometown, which is really nice."

"I'm intrigued by people who are super adept at manipulating their own image. We all do it to a certain extent."

"My dad was a serious alcoholic, and ultimately, that's why he died. When you're a child of someone who struggled with things like that, you look for the common thread. Is there a pattern? Is there an inheritance of pathology in some way? That haunts me."

"My dad played guitar, and he taught me enough to play some Beatles' songs. But primarily, I was a bookworm. I loved reading and still do. My whole family does. It was part of the family culture. Accomplished literacy was a value."

"There's only so many variations on the basics of human relationships. To me, it's all about the detail and how you tell the story. How you say, 'I love you.'"

"I was thinking about how we're so in touch with our image now. That conception of ourselves, in a very physical sense, can be oppressive. You find people wanting to be in dark places, not really see themselves, see themselves as a filtered image. A curated image."

"More than anything for me, making music is about taking nothing and making something."

"I studied psychology and sociology. I think my assumption was that I would go to graduate school, and I don't know what I was going to do after that."

"I'm letting inspiration move me, in whatever direction it may, without concern if this sounds too rap or too indie, or there's too many words in it."

"What I've discovered and try to integrate into my show is when you're up there, and you are loud and more visible, you're setting a tone for how people can behave and how they can feel comfortable behaving."