“Your mind is a your temple, keep it beautiful and free. Don’t let an egg get laid in it by something you can’t see.”

The purpose of art is to stop time.

Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul

There are things I could say. But I don’t.

When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it – don’t back down and don’t give up – then you’re going to mystify a lot of folks.

May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true. May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong. May you stay forever young.

People have a hard time accepting anything that overwhelms them.

There is nothing so stable as change.

I really didn’t consider myself happy or unhappy.

Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else.

Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot.

Never make it perfect.

You’ll never be greater than yourself.

Don’t matter how much money you got, there’s only two kinds of people: there’s saved people and there’s lost people.

If I lived my life by what others were thinkin’, the heart inside me would’ve died.

To live outside the law, you must be honest.

I’ve never been able to understand the seriousness of it all, the seriousness of pride. People talk, act, live as if they’re never going to die. And what do they leave behind? Nothing. Nothing but a mask.

Why don’t somebody wake up to the beauty of old women?

You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue.

All I have going is my looks. When my beauty goes, I’m through.

As far as beauty is concerned, in order to be confident we must accept that the way we look and feel is our own responsibility.

So much has been said and sung of beautiful young girls, why doesn’t somebody wake up to the beauty of old women.

Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro – and beautiful!

You’re an artist. Beauty grows in you.

Because one thing God gave us- and I’m afraid it’s at times a little too much- is freewill. Freedom to choose. I believe he gave us everything needed to build a beautiful world, if we choose wisely.