“As soon as I heard ‘Calypso,’ I loved it.”
“Most people don’t know that I’m down to earth until they meet me.”
“I have my own thing going on; I don’t want to imitate anyone else.”
“You can filter certain stuff – it depends what artist you are – but you’re never going to be true to yourself if you’re worried about what other people think.”
“I’m crazy excited to be performing at the MTV Brand new 2017 showcase! MTV has always been about showcasing new talent, and to be selected by the team to perform on the night is an honour!”
“I always support anyone who I think is dope, female-wise. Whereas a lot of females are scared of other females.”
“Growing up, I was definitely surrounded by music all the time. My parents used to always play music; my dad used to have reggae on. I remember walking around with a cassette recorder, and I used to just record the songs I would hear on the radio so I could play it back when I feel like.”
“I get homesick – I could be in the sunniest place, but I need to see normality, and normal, for me, is London.”
“What’s funny is that all the artists I’ve collaborated with, I get this feeling that they want me to win. They’re always asking my opinion, always giving me advice.”
“The rappers that become legendary, they’re the ones you wanna be.”
“I wouldn’t change my childhood for anything. The Dutch are really nice people. The schools were great.”
“If there’s something you want to say or talk about, then that’s what rap is all about – talking about your own experience.”
“You can’t tell someone how to write their own book.”
“I love recreating, and I love elevating – anything I do I want do ten times better every time.”
“When it’s my show, I know that everybody is there to see me – but I like a challenge, and I like the fact that at festivals, not everybody is there to see me, but I have the chance to convert people.”
“I don’t really like to share deep issues or anything like that. I have a problem with that. I don’t really like to talk about some stuff.”
“I’ve never felt competitive; I’m not a competitive person. In general, I try not to be!”
“When you’re doing so much, there’s so much on your mind. The bigger the artist you become, you have to think a lot more. I’m trying not to overthink everything!”
“People say that I’m very intimidating when they see me. I think confidence can be intimidating. I kind of think it’s good, because it keeps away a lot of boys.”
“I tried to make people see that I’m not someone to be put in a box. I can do it all.”
“A lot of Americans take to my sound.”
“I just knew that I wanted world domination. I knew that with anything I do, I want to be the greatest. That entails being great everywhere. Not just in America – everywhere.”
“Since I was 19, I’ve said, ‘I’m gonna sign for a million.’”
“If you’re shy when you’re singing, that’s the worst combination.”
“I feel like there should be someone to stick up for women and make them feel good and beautiful about themselves.”
“When I’m dressed up, I feel confident – no one can’t tell me anything.”
“I had a weird accent. Dutch people speak American English, and my parents were Jamaican, with their own broken English.”
“I didn’t think rap was me. But I was shy to sing in front of people. It’d be so off because I was shy.”
“When I’m in the studio with a writer, I don’t mind for them to take the lead and show me something new.”
“I don’t care about no guys; I don’t care about no girls. I just want to rule the world.”
“Lisa ‘Left-Eye’ Lopes in TLC, she stood out a lot with her rap. It was so different, the way she would flow.”
“I like to be in control.”
“I’m more comfortable with myself and saying whatever I want and not really caring about anyone else.”
“I remember having a conversation with Drake just before I signed. He said, ‘Make sure that, whatever you do, your opponent is scared of you.’ That really stuck with me.”
“I’m not going to compromise or not say what I want for anyone.”
“My Britishness waters my music down!”
“I used to love ‘Ladies Night’ by Lil’ Kim so much that I performed it in school without really knowing what it was about. I just knew that she was getting at a guy and winning.”
“Stefflon Don songs go off in the club… well, basically, anywhere people hear them.”
“Alan Carr – I love him.”
“For the majority of the time, the songs I like, other people seem to like, so that’s good.”
“When Kehlani brought me out onstage, I really enjoyed that. I was just appreciative for her to think of me and bring me out woman to woman, introducing me to a whole new audience to me. It was just showing that I was appreciated for what I’m doing, that some people mess with me, and I’m all over the place.”
“My goal is just to be real and bring people good music and let them enjoy the music that I bring.”
“I want to be more than just an artist and be a people’s person and do a lot of stuff for people.”
“I’m an international baby. I’m happy my parents decided I should be worldwide.”
“I do like a red carpet. Unfortunately I’m always under-prepared when it comes to outfits. I’m so busy running around I don’t get time to do fittings.”
“I started writing songs at eight. Heartbreak songs – don’t ask me why. It was the stuff I used to hear, so I imitated it. I used to write songs about guys cheating. Could you imagine!”
“When I was 18 or 19, I started writing raps properly.”
“I want people to hear me and feel like they can be bold as well.”
“I was singing R&B before I was rapping, and I never really enjoyed it. But when I started rapping, I was like, ‘This is sick – I’m actually alright at rapping!’”
“I don’t want to sound like anyone.”
“I tell people all the time, men don’t talk to me. Even before I was a household name or whatever, when I went to clubs, people were scared to come to me because of the way I looked.”
“I rap and I sing, so then you’ve got a bit of hip-hop in there. I’m Jamaican, so you got a bit of dancehall. And I’m from London, so there’s a bit of London things in there… And at sometimes, it’s a little bit Afrobeat.”
“I want to keep the same kinda vibe where we’ve got the dance element and hip-hop. I’m going to be singing a lot more, and I want to write more heartfelt songs.”
“I was born in Birmingham, and then I moved to Rotterdam when I was about five/six and then came back when I was 14.”
“Travelling, in general, opens your mind to so many different cultures and different ways of thinking and different ways of seeing stuff. I definitely feel like it has an influence on my music to be a bit more broader and a bit more open.”
“The rule I stand by as an artist is definitely be yourself, and don’t make music just for other people: make it for you first.”
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