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I was independent. There was no one there to talk to; I didn’t even want to talk to anyone. I started to write about what I was experiencing, and I had no choice, so I was never scared.

Benjamin Clementine

I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn’t that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the same. After six months of living on the streets [in Camden], I started singing, busking.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Dead Environment Months Singing Six
We have the real self and the false self, there’s nothing wrong with them, and everyone has both of them.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Everyone False Nothing Real Self
When you have a lot of fake selves, most of the time it’s because you haven’t had parents around so you try to build characters to protect yourself.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Character Fake Parent Protect Self
When I started writing again, especially when I listened to French music and Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, I realized that these lots talked about themselves. The greatest artists, they didn’t sing; they only spoke.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Artist Listen Writing
That’s how I always try to start my thoughts. I write them down first, eventually it turns into a poem, and if I feel like composing something to it, then I do that.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Firsts Like Poem Trying Writing
If you’ve got great parents, once you grow up and have to live by yourself, you’re going to create some fake self as you get comfortable wherever you are.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Fake Growing Self Up
I was very rebellious, but my family was strict Christians – they would ask us, “What’s the shortest verse in the Bible?” and I was the one who always said “John 11:35” straightaway. It stayed with me, the Bible has stayed with me.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Christian Family Rebellious
The real self is who you are when you’re at home, when you’re comfortable, and the false self is what you’re pretending – and the reason you pretend is because you want to create a character for the surroundings you’re within.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Character Home Real Reason Surround
I’m not dismissing prostitutes, but a lot has changed. This so-called gentrification, it can never be stopped.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Changed Gentrification Prostitute Stop
I’m from a middle class family but my father squandered all the money, so I didn’t really run around with rich people. I was very judgmental towards a lot of them.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Class Father Running
Obviously you live life for yourself and have your choice to believe what you want to believe in, but I know that the Bible can be used to appreciate life.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Appreciate Believe Life Live
I know that New York is big, there are huge buildings, but in fact, it’s quite small and contained.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Building Country Facts
There’s a part in every person that has a fake self. We’ve had this since infancy due to our parents and our upbringing.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Fake Parent Self Upbring
I’ve always been shy, but every time that I sing or I perform, when music comes out of me, it is the only thing I can relate to, it’s the only thing I can give.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Giving Relate Shy
We’re all competent in different ways, we’ve just got to find a way to push ourselves up more.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Competent Different Ourselves Way
I wasn’t quite used to writing a diary – I didn’t understand why people did it – but I wrote down notes and they went into a poem.
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

Diaries People Writing

I was independent. There was no one there to talk to; I didn’t even want to talk to anyone. I started to write about what I was experiencing, and I had no choice, so I was never scared.

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I was independent. There was no one there to talk to; I didn’t even want to talk to anyone. I started to write about what I was experiencing, and I had no choice, so I was never scared.

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Popular Authors

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