If I'm being forced to do something I don't want to do, my real self comes out. But whether or not I'm aware of it, no matter what happens, I'm always going to have a fake self, and I'm not going to judge my fake self.

Benjamin Clementine

I was lucky to have read a lot of poetry when I was younger; it helped me to remember a way to write.

Benjamin Clementine

Personally, I wouldn't mind going on stage naked, totally naked.

Benjamin Clementine

I'm actually doing what I like doing, which is mixing opera music and classical music with soul and folk. And I was writing and talking about what I've actually experienced, and I don't think that's very common.

Benjamin Clementine

I would describe myself as outspoken. Not political. Outspoken about what I want to say. There are things that need to be said... and I think it's my obligation to say them.

Benjamin Clementine

I appreciate my city very much. When I go to America and Europe, and I tell everyone I'm from London, I'm proud.

Benjamin Clementine

Studying music involves a lot of mathematics and a lot of exercises of memory. Or you've got to be able to be like somebody, to play like somebody, to play Mozart's music the way he played it and how he intended it. You've got to make it perfect, and that's not what I want to do. Although it is beautiful.

Benjamin Clementine

My parents always said that I would be a lawyer or pilot or doctor - and I always just thought that's what I would do.

Benjamin Clementine

When I first started singing in Paris, I sounded horrible: I was just singing to get some money to eat. And I wasn't singing my own songs: it was Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Eventually, when I wrote my own music, my style just came out of my own place.

Benjamin Clementine

Because I didn't think anyone would actually listen to my music, I thought I could say whatever I wanted.

Benjamin Clementine

I personally wouldn't want my second album to sound like my first; it might sound very rocky or hard rock - and that wouldn't be melancholy. So if people think my music is melancholic, then so be it. It's meant to be uplifting, and I'm just basically saying what needs to be said.

Benjamin Clementine

I believe when the music is being sung or being played, at the end of it, there's some sort of grace and understanding. And that's all I want for humanity. I just want us to understand each other. That's the point of my music.

Benjamin Clementine

The greatest in heroes in life are the anonymous. That's what I believe. Your neighbours are heroes. People who, when you walk down the street, you see them feeding their little baby - these people are heroes because they are living under difficult situations, but they're still trying to save a life.

Benjamin Clementine

I always see my music for its rewards rather than its awards. But I always thought if there was one award I'd want to win, it would be the Mercury.

Benjamin Clementine

Honestly, I still don't know a lot of artists, and I want to keep it that way for a while. I think that's why I might be quite original.

Benjamin Clementine

I found it quite pleasing to be alone from a very young age. The piano became my source of release.

Benjamin Clementine

Where I'm staying, near Lafayette Street, Bowery, and Houston, you get different people with different spirits, and that's what I like.

Benjamin Clementine

I know that New York is big - there are huge buildings - but, in fact, it's quite small and contained... I like it when cities are melancholic. When it started snowing, for example, I felt very lonely. I felt very comfortable and very relaxed. When that happens, I write. So I've been writing, not a lot, but I'm inspired every day.

Benjamin Clementine

Why are there not cabs in Edmonton? Why are there cabs in central London but not here? And if they're going to be here, they should be cheaper. And travelcards, they're expensive.

Benjamin Clementine

If you live in central London, that's probably fine for you, but in places like Edmonton, where you're almost out of sight of London, you've got to pay more and more to get into central London. How does that work?

Benjamin Clementine

Benjamin Clementine Quotes

If I'm being forced to do something I don't want to do, my real self comes out. But whether or not I'm aware of it, no matter what happens, I'm always going to have a fake self, and I'm not going to judge my fake self.

I was lucky to have read a lot of poetry when I was younger; it helped me to remember a way to write.

Personally, I wouldn't mind going on stage naked, totally naked.

I'm actually doing what I like doing, which is mixing opera music and classical music with soul and folk. And I was writing and talking about what I've actually experienced, and I don't think that's very common.

I would describe myself as outspoken. Not political. Outspoken about what I want to say. There are things that need to be said... and I think it's my obligation to say them.

I appreciate my city very much. When I go to America and Europe, and I tell everyone I'm from London, I'm proud.

My parents always said that I would be a lawyer or pilot or doctor - and I always just thought that's what I would do.

When I first started singing in Paris, I sounded horrible: I was just singing to get some money to eat. And I wasn't singing my own songs: it was Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Eventually, when I wrote my own music, my style just came out of my own place.

Because I didn't think anyone would actually listen to my music, I thought I could say whatever I wanted.

I personally wouldn't want my second album to sound like my first; it might sound very rocky or hard rock - and that wouldn't be melancholy. So if people think my music is melancholic, then so be it. It's meant to be uplifting, and I'm just basically saying what needs to be said.

I believe when the music is being sung or being played, at the end of it, there's some sort of grace and understanding. And that's all I want for humanity. I just want us to understand each other. That's the point of my music.

I always see my music for its rewards rather than its awards. But I always thought if there was one award I'd want to win, it would be the Mercury.

Honestly, I still don't know a lot of artists, and I want to keep it that way for a while. I think that's why I might be quite original.

I found it quite pleasing to be alone from a very young age. The piano became my source of release.

Where I'm staying, near Lafayette Street, Bowery, and Houston, you get different people with different spirits, and that's what I like.

Why are there not cabs in Edmonton? Why are there cabs in central London but not here? And if they're going to be here, they should be cheaper. And travelcards, they're expensive.

If you live in central London, that's probably fine for you, but in places like Edmonton, where you're almost out of sight of London, you've got to pay more and more to get into central London. How does that work?