--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's the strength of her music…" description: "\"I think it's the strength of her music, using art to make a statement. I think it really is. It was not a cheap gift. The gift was an expensive gift fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/nikki-giovanni-1757_art_i-think-it-s-the-strength-of-her-music-u_2650526.png" --- # I think it's the strength of her music, using art to make… ![“I think it's the strength of her music, using art to make a statement. I think it really is. It was not a cheap gift. The gift was an expensive gift for Nina [Simone]. Diamonds are expensive. Her music was expensive. She paid for it, but I think it's her greatest gift.” quote by Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/nikki-giovanni-1757_art_i-think-it-s-the-strength-of-her-music-u_2650526.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/nikki-giovanni-1757_art_i-think-it-s-the-strength-of-her-music-u_2650526.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/nikki-giovanni-1757_art_i-think-it-s-the-strength-of-her-music-u_2650526.png) > “I think it's the strength of her music, using art to make a statement. I think it really is. It was not a cheap gift. The gift was an expensive gift for Nina \[Simone\]. Diamonds are expensive. Her music was expensive. She paid for it, but I think it's her greatest gift.” [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Her music is a powerful, costly statement, a gift of artistic truth and personal sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Music as an expensive, meaningful gift. Key Takeaway Value authentic artistic expression. Themes art expression value Mood thoughtful inspirational Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - concerts - art installations - personal reflection Key Concepts cultural critique artist’s intent Questions to Reflect On - What makes art feel valuable? - How does personal sacrifice enhance artistic impact? A Different Perspective May be perceived as elitist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Expensive Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive-gift-921571/) [Expensive Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive-music-2345602/) [Gift Nina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-nina-2345600/) [Greatest gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gift/) [Greatest gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-gifts/) [Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiday/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Nina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nina/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nina-simone/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Simone Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simone-diamonds-2345601/) [Statements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statements/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [ I just think she was a wonderful woman. What I think of when I think of Nina \[Simone\] is someone that I could relate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-just-think-she-was-a-wonderful-woman-what-i-think-of-when-i-think/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Nina Simone's music is incredibly honest. That's like saying, "Why does Jesus' word still stay around?" It's incredibly honest and it's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/nina-simone-s-music-is-incredibly-honest-that-s-like-saying-why-does/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I prefer her \[Nina Simone's\] jazz period much more so than her folk period. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-prefer-her-nina-simone-s-jazz-period-much-more-so-than-her-folk/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I think that too many strangers were in her \[Nina Simone's\] life, and not enough people that she knew and loved. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-think-that-too-many-strangers-were-in-her-nina-simone-s-life-and/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I used to go up to her house. She lived upstate \[in New York\] and I lived in Manhattan; you're living in a lot… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-used-to-go-up-to-her-house-she-lived-upstate-in-new-york-and-i/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I was responding to one thing for the woman I knew, and there's another thing for what did she give, right. She \[Nina Simone\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-was-responding-to-one-thing-for-the-woman-i-knew-and-there-s/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I knew Stokely \[Carmichael\] and them, but when you got to that, you saw that Nina Simone started to take up their burden. She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-knew-stokely-carmichael-and-them-but-when-you-got-to-that-you-saw/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [We just didn't put any pressure on each other, and I think that everybody needs somebody, and I didn't do it to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/we-just-didn-t-put-any-pressure-on-each-other-and-i-think-that/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I wish that she had had a black loon because I don't think that Nina \[Simone\] did. I have always had - I've been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-wish-that-she-had-had-a-black-loon-because-i-don-t-think-that-nina/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I am of the generation of segregation. Black Lives Matter is post. I said today, and I will say all the time, "If Nina…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-am-of-the-generation-of-segregation-black-lives-matter-is-post-i/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I find it ironic that now water is more expensive than music. On the one hand, record companies can't go crying when they've gouged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/i-find-it-ironic-that-now-water-is-more-expensive-than-music-on-the/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [I write to music, and Nina Simone is always on my playlist to write to. I mean, shes inspiring. She's truthful and real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/i-write-to-music-and-nina-simone-is-always-on-my-playlist-to-write-to/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [My big influences are Joni Mitchell, and a lot of classical and Indian music, as well as Nina Simone and the personal blues and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-naim/my-big-influences-are-joni-mitchell-and-a-lot-of-classical-and-indian/) [Yael Naim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-naim/) > [I'm like a middle-aged person; when my friends go on about modern bands, I don't know what they are talking about. I'm into rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-may-jagger/i-m-like-a-middle-aged-person-when-my-friends-go-on-about-modern/) [Georgia May Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-may-jagger/) > [There are singers that I have enjoyed, from Nina Simone and Ray Charles onward. But the music that made music the number one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/there-are-singers-that-i-have-enjoyed-from-nina-simone-and-ray/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) ## More by Nikki Giovanni > [ I just think she was a wonderful woman. What I think of when I think of Nina \[Simone\] is someone that I could relate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-just-think-she-was-a-wonderful-woman-what-i-think-of-when-i-think/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [It's really just interesting to ask: why not? And see where that takes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/it-s-really-just-interesting-to-ask-why-not-and-see-where-that-takes/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I am ever fascinated by the human experience and by, actually, human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-am-ever-fascinated-by-the-human-experience-and-by-actually-human/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [You do what you can with what you have. You have to work the edges whatever they are. The main thing is keeping your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/you-do-what-you-can-with-what-you-have-you-have-to-work-the-edges/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/mistakes-are-a-fact-of-life-it-is-the-response-to-the-error-that/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [I’ve not learned the acceptable way of saying you fascinate me...I’ve not even learned how to say I like you without frightening people away-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-ve-not-learned-the-acceptable-way-of-saying-you-fascinate-me-i-ve/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ever been kidnapped by a poet if i were a poet i'd kidnap you put you in my phrases and meter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/ever-been-kidnapped-by-a-poet-if-i-were-a-poet-i-d-kidnap-you-put-you/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [We love because it's the only true adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/we-love-because-it-s-the-only-true-adventure/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Young people coming up who are having difficulty with their so-called celebrity need to get back into their lives. It's your life and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/young-people-coming-up-who-are-having-difficulty-with-their-so-called/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ \[To become a poet\] The most important thing is to pay attention. The next would probably be to read; it's so important to pay… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/to-become-a-poet-the-most-important-thing-is-to-pay-attention-the/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [daddy says the world is a drum tight and hard and i told him i’m gonna beat out my own rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/daddy-says-the-world-is-a-drum-tight-and-hard-and-i-told-him-i-m/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [We eat up artists like there's going to be a famine at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/we-eat-up-artists-like-there-s-going-to-be-a-famine-at-the-end/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Life is a process where people mix and match, fall apart and come back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/life-is-a-process-where-people-mix-and-match-fall-apart-and-come-back/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [The trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans. I say, the trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/the-trip-to-mars-can-only-be-understood-through-black-americans-i-say/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [War is not a jobs program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/war-is-not-a-jobs-program/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) [Explore all 210 Nikki Giovanni quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it's the strength of her music, using art to make a statement. 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