Zitat des Tages von Jidenna:
America is haunted by an apparition steeped in slavery, and I wanted to remind everyone that, 'Yo, we've got to handle this.'
I began my studies in a sound and electrical engineering program, but I ultimately created a major called 'Ritual Art.'
When I brought home a 98 percent on a test, my father would say, 'Ah, ah, where are the other two points? Go and get them, then bring them back.' My father and Nigerian culture has always stood for excellence.
I've always been dabbling in suits, but like a lot of people in the neighborhoods I grew up in, I had my snapback; I had my v-neck. I still got them in the closet. I got my J's, my Forces; it was standard.
I myself have been scrutinized by militarized police, but I know officers who actually handle themselves in a certain way that makes me feel safe.
I describe myself as a big kid with an old soul, I'm very playful whimsical, but I definitely have that old soul as well.
Jesus' birthday is commercialized, so of course, Black History Month is commercialized.
I've gone down several paths. I started school as an engineer, but underneath it all, I knew I wanted to use instruments, not build them.
There was no question that I was going to school.
When I originally came to the U.S., my mother came with a couple hundred dollars to her name. I didn't know we were struggling because she hid that from me. But it was definitely a struggle to get through life and get through school.
Nothing I'm doing is without its predecessors.
I was raised with a father who really believed in the bridge between all Africans around the world.
In music, I wanted to make sure I was innovating.
I think it's important to not just think about what you want but what's needed in the world.
Willy Wonka had his chocolate factory; I have my Fear & Fancy Parlor.
I was born in Wisconsin, but I quickly moved to Nigeria as a toddler.
My nickname is 'Chief' because my father was a chief in Nigeria.
I don't have one geographic location that I'm exclusively loyal to.
Even if the production doesn't feel African, the vocal delivery - singing through your nose. Specifically, Highlife music from Nigeria. That was the first music I ever heard as a child. So singing through my nose is something I do often, and that's directly rooted in my heritage.
You love who you love. I happen to just love a lot of women.
I think it's the job of the artist to reflect the times and also reflect his or her views of the world.
When I was a boy, I was sagging my pants like everyone else. Some boys become men and continue to sag their pants because that's their form of rebellion.
Ever since the decision of Robin Thicke and Pharrell, we believe that it was important to make sure that we are safe. When that Robin Thicke verdict came out, we realized that the game had changed in music.
I am, always have been, and always will be proud of my Nigerian heritage.
I work predominantly with tailors from Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
I thought I had everything going for me. I wasn't listening to nobody. And my dad was like, 'Uh-uh, you can't make money from music. You have to be a doctor, a lawyer, engineer. Something that's going to do something for this world. Music doesn't do anything.' And I had to fight that, his passion, and fight the society that I was from.
I was raised in Nigeria, and my mother is white, but I never saw her as white, not until I came to America. She was just my mother. She didn't really have a color.
I believe what Wondaland is doing is creating depth.
My style is not specific to the antebellum South, but it's heavily inspired by the Jim Crow era.
Everything you touch touches you.
My name is Jidenna, which means 'to hold or embrace the father' in Igbo. It was my father who gave me this name and who taught me countless parables, proverbs, and principles that made me the man I am today.
A great tailor is like a great personal trainer - they tailor that suit to your natural physique.
The most important thing for me is the thing I strive for. But I also hope when I play my songs for people - adult, children, mostly children - that they feel mighty, they feel noble, they feel like warriors. And they feel like they can do anything in the world because that's how I feel.
Swanky means classy and funky.
Most of the suits I try to wear are bespoke.
I feel like we haven't dealt with the ghosts of America's past, and the way to deal with it is to confront it, so every time people see me, I want them to be reminded and to confront that ghost.