America Quote by Roy Ayers

I think that if you hear music young, whatever music you hear influences you. I'm white, but I've been influenced by black music.

— Lisa Stansfield

I think music is one of the hero/sheroes of the African-American existence.

— Maya Angelou

In terms of black music - the only music that we can call our own, that was really born here - I don't think…

— Tom Waits

Ninety-nine percent of the music that was of any interest to me when I was growing up came out of the black community.

— David Sanborn

I am the greatest thing to happen to black music.

— Thom Yorke

I was relatively isolated from people of color. My parents are too old to be Baby Boomers; they had me later in life. So…

— Jess Row

I never quite lived up to the image of the black man as I saw it growing up. I was never listening to the…

— Justin Simien

Music is the very cement that has not just held the black community together but holds black selves together in a fundamental sense.

— Cornel West

Society wants to categorize everything, but to me it's all African-American music.

— Johnny Otis

I'd been listening to African-American music since the first record I ever bought, which was by Sam Cooke. And it sounds more like my…

— David Toop

My issue is race. I feel black people nowadays have to conform to this one ideal. We all have to be the same. We…

— Kamanda Ndama

Just because I grew up a white guy in America doesn't mean that's the music of my life.

— Ezra Koenig