--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't understand why people make me…" description: "\"I don't understand why people make me want to make music that's a join-the-dots thing by numbers. I find it really difficult when people say, 'Aw, you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/m-i-a-3418_allen_i-don-t-understand-why-people-make-me-wa_2561999.jpg" --- # I don't understand why people make me want to make music… ![“I don't understand why people make me want to make music that's a join-the-dots thing by numbers. I find it really difficult when people say, 'Aw, you should have made a really big hip hop record, that would have been really good for you' or, 'You should have made a song like Lily Allen, that…” quote by M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/m-i-a-3418_allen_i-don-t-understand-why-people-make-me-wa_2561999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/m-i-a-3418_allen_i-don-t-understand-why-people-make-me-wa_2561999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c87/m-i-a-3418_allen_i-don-t-understand-why-people-make-me-wa_2561999.jpg) > “I don't understand why people make me want to make music that's a join-the-dots thing by numbers. I find it really difficult when people say, 'Aw, you should have made a really big hip hop record, that would have been really good for you' or, 'You should have made a song like Lily Allen, that would have been so great.'” [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External expectations can clash with personal artistic vision, creating tension between authenticity and commercial pressure. **In simple terms:** External pressure conflicts with personal art. Key Takeaway Stay true to your vision. Themes creativity authenticity industry Mood defiant introspective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - music production - branding Key Concepts artistic integrity commercial success Questions to Reflect On - What core values guide your creative work? - How do you handle criticism that pushes you toward mainstream? A Different Perspective Yielding to trends may dilute originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allen/) [Aw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aw/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-song/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Hip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip/) [Hip hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) [Hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hop/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Lily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lily/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-music/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Join](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-join-1538160/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-say/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record/) [Record Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record-really/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-make/) [Why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [When we moved to England in 1986, I was ten years old and I didn't know anything about punk or hip hop. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/when-we-moved-to-england-in-1986-i-was-ten-years-old-and-i-didn-t/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I think if you play music and you join a scene you're already too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-if-you-play-music-and-you-join-a-scene-you-re-already-too-late/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hip hop classes and ballet are what I've been keeping up with, and of course my usual abdominal workout, which consists of 500 sit-ups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/briana-evigan/hip-hop-classes-and-ballet-are-what-i-ve-been-keeping-up-with-and-of/) [Briana Evigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/briana-evigan/) > [I realized how far-reaching the effect of hip hop was when I walked by a jewelry store named Bling in a small, rural town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stoute/i-realized-how-far-reaching-the-effect-of-hip-hop-was-when-i-walked/) [Steve Stoute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stoute/) > [We can come from our own particular point of view and lay it down. We should not be throwing verbal rocks at each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grandmaster-flash/we-can-come-from-our-own-particular-point-of-view-and-lay-it-down-we/) [Grandmaster Flash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grandmaster-flash/) > [I live in a neighborhood that's really filled with sound - there's a lot of Jamaican auto body shops, and the guys next door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sxip-shirey/i-live-in-a-neighborhood-that-s-really-filled-with-sound-there-s-a/) [Sxip Shirey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sxip-shirey/) > [You have this ability in hip hop to be invincibly cool, and that is a part of G-Eazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/you-have-this-ability-in-hip-hop-to-be-invincibly-cool-and-that-is-a/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [The methodologies of examining hip hop are borrowed from sociology, politics, religion, economics, urban studies, journalism, communications theory, American studies, transatlantic studies, black studies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/the-methodologies-of-examining-hip-hop-are-borrowed-from-sociology/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I'm so sick of hearing that U.K. hip hop doesn't get credit and success when I'm working to get it - for me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle/i-m-so-sick-of-hearing-that-u-k-hip-hop-doesn-t-get-credit-and/) [Estelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle/) > [By denying its musical and artistic merit, hip hop's critics get to have it both ways: they can deny the legitimate artistic standing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/by-denying-its-musical-and-artistic-merit-hip-hop-s-critics-get-to/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I have thought about the next steps, and you know, they still don't know that I can dance. They don't know it, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naima-adedapo/i-have-thought-about-the-next-steps-and-you-know-they-still-don-t/) [Naima Adedapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naima-adedapo/) > [Somewhere down the line, the evil ones stole the legacy of hip hop and flipped it to a corporate type of hip hop. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afrika-bambaataa/somewhere-down-the-line-the-evil-ones-stole-the-legacy-of-hip-hop-and/) [Afrika Bambaataa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afrika-bambaataa/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) > [Early '90s hip hop is my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-alcott/early-90s-hip-hop-is-my-thing/) [Dylan Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-alcott/) > [I come from the golden age of hip hop when all the greats came on the scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/i-come-from-the-golden-age-of-hip-hop-when-all-the-greats-came-on-the/) [Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/) ## More by M.I.A > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [You have to constantly redefine who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/you-have-to-constantly-redefine-who-you-are/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [That's what I miss, being a real human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-s-what-i-miss-being-a-real-human/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [Retirement: a brand new beginning! How wonderful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/retirement-a-brand-new-beginning-how-wonderful/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I don't like the idea of spirituality done the way it's done. The only way I could understand it was through creativity, not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-spirituality-done-the-way-it-s-done-the-only/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I felt pissed off because I realized that you have to teach people in a clichéd way how to be happy-and happiness has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-felt-pissed-off-because-i-realized-that-you-have-to-teach-people-in/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [The first 10 years of my life, I lived as 'Matangi.' When I came to England in '86, my first week of school was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-first-10-years-of-my-life-i-lived-as-matangi-when-i-came-to/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [My uncle was the first brown person to have a market stall on Petticoat Lane in the 1960s. He worked his way up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/my-uncle-was-the-first-brown-person-to-have-a-market-stall-on/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [That divide between the rich and poor is so crazy, because even white kids are suffering now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-divide-between-the-rich-and-poor-is-so-crazy-because-even-white/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [Businessmen in society are not going to be the ones that promote anything outside of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/businessmen-in-society-are-not-going-to-be-the-ones-that-promote/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [That's what New York is like - you can't have real art happen in an institution because rich people can make the world stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-s-what-new-york-is-like-you-can-t-have-real-art-happen-in-an/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I feel like a mirror reflecting back everyones perception of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-feel-like-a-mirror-reflecting-back-everyones-perception-of-me/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [In England right now you're not good enough until you get validated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/in-england-right-now-you-re-not-good-enough-until-you-get-validated/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I'm still working out my opinions - it's always a question mark. I leave loads of space open, and people don't like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-m-still-working-out-my-opinions-it-s-always-a-question-mark-i-leave/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [Basically, when I went to school in Sri Lanka from age five onward, the classes there were sometimes sorted into a hierarchy of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/basically-when-i-went-to-school-in-sri-lanka-from-age-five-onward-the/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) [Explore all 131 M.I.A quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) ## More Allen quotes > [Being in a Woody Allen film. I cherish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/being-in-a-woody-allen-film-i-cherish-it/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [My older brother took me to Woody Allen double features when I was still teething.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/my-older-brother-took-me-to-woody-allen-double-features-when-i-was/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [I don't know enough about Woody Allen to be a fan of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-ritchie/i-don-t-know-enough-about-woody-allen-to-be-a-fan-of-him/) [Guy Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-ritchie/) > [I would like to work with people whose films I really like: Walter Salles, Woody Allen, Julio Medem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-tautou/i-would-like-to-work-with-people-whose-films-i-really-like-walter/) [Audrey Tautou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-tautou/) > [I know that this sounds grand, but I don't try to compete with other people. I like to think there's enough pie for everyone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-merchant/i-know-that-this-sounds-grand-but-i-don-t-try-to-compete-with-other/) [Stephen Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-merchant/) > [When you win, everything is everything. But when you lose, it's all about Allen Iverson and Larry Brown. When we win, I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-iverson/when-you-win-everything-is-everything-but-when-you-lose-it-s-all/) [Allen Iverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-iverson/) > [Obviously, if Woody Allen calls and says he wants you to read a script, of course you read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/obviously-if-woody-allen-calls-and-says-he-wants-you-to-read-a-script/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Some people said my acting was a cross between Euell Gibbons, Rodney Allen Rippy and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfman-jack/some-people-said-my-acting-was-a-cross-between-euell-gibbons-rodney/) [Wolfman Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfman-jack/) > [While filming 'Annie Hall,' I never really hung out with Woody Allen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-kane/while-filming-annie-hall-i-never-really-hung-out-with-woody-allen/) [Carol Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-kane/) > [First off, I love Woody Allen. His early movies, like 'Hannah and Her Sisters,' are incredible. I also love anything by Billy Wilder, Ron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-story/first-off-i-love-woody-allen-his-early-movies-like-hannah-and-her/) [Tim Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-story/) > [I'm so from the Woody Allen/Spike Lee school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-night-shyamalan/i-m-so-from-the-woody-allen-spike-lee-school/) [M. Night Shyamalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-night-shyamalan/) > [When I worked with anybody like Woody Allen, there's the name, and your understanding of who they are before you meet them, that stays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/when-i-worked-with-anybody-like-woody-allen-there-s-the-name-and-your/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [I'm very physical. I'm extremely active, and I would love to do something a little more sexy and dangerous, a la Sophia Loren, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azita-ghanizada/i-m-very-physical-i-m-extremely-active-and-i-would-love-to-do/) [Azita Ghanizada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azita-ghanizada/) > [When television began, it modeled itself after radio. Many early television programs were radio programs first. 'My Favorite Wife,' 'The Jack Benny Show,' 'Burns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gerrold/when-television-began-it-modeled-itself-after-radio-many-early/) [David Gerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gerrold/) > [Woody Allen's movies are so much a part of me. I grew up watching them over and over and would read all his comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-baumbach/woody-allen-s-movies-are-so-much-a-part-of-me-i-grew-up-watching-them/) [Noah Baumbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-baumbach/) [Browse all 105 Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't understand why people make me want to make music that's a join-the-dots thing by numbers. 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