My mentor made me say a poem over and over. 'Stop! That's not your voice. Start again.' I was sobbing by the… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I like to borrow forms and quotes and use a lot of allusions, in both poetry and music. — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I started writing poems on a Xanga page. I always loved writing. I also had a Deviant Art page, actually, because my… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
When I started writing poetry, it was always in very hip-hop influenced spaces: Someone would teach a Nas song side-by-side with a… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
My artistic manifesto exists in the world as poetry. So even though most of the things that I've done have been on… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I really liked 'Blk Girl Art.' It's like a manifesto saying why I create, whether it's poetry or music. — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
It's important to immerse myself in one thing at a time to do it well, but I could never do one thing… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I have a band called M&O. We were working on our first album in 2011 or 2012. We were looking for people… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
With lyrics, being a poet gave me a different approach than other people. — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
It was through poetry I learned just to appreciate my own voice and to not think of my voice in terms of… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
Me and my three younger siblings, we sang together in grandma's church, and I was in the Chicago Children's Choir in high school, but… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
My mentor made me say a poem over and over. 'Stop! That's not your voice. Start again.' I was sobbing by the end, but… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
Music is something that is supposed to connect people on a pure level. — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
The lake was always my orienting point when my dad was teaching me how to not get lost. The lake is east, so you'll… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
They say Chicago is for haters. No one will just sweat each other and say, 'Oh, you're so good,' if you're not. Which is… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I read 'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison in college, and it just blew my mind. — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I really value what Closed Sessions is doing to build the Chicago music scene and am excited to partner with them for my first… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
In some ways, I value specificity. I think that there's power in, once you know who your fan base is, being able to speak… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
A lot of people get Chicago wrong. I've developed this protective feeling about how we're portrayed, and at the same time, I'm acutely aware… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I think of music as creating a space. I like to put things in that are comforting to me and are nostalgic. To me,… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
I don't know if it's because I grew up in Beverly or my friends, but I listened to a lot of alternative rock music.… — Jamila Woods Copy Share Image
