57 Quotes by Taj Mahal

My parents grew up during the Harlem renaissance.

My grandparents on my father's side came to this country from the Caribbean with a strong connection to Africa and no shame about it.

As I got more involved in music, one of the things that made me excited, from the time I was a child, was that clear link between our ancestors and the sounds we hear today.

I'm perceived as someone who goes out and searches for new music, but it was all present in my household.

All the music that I play today, I actually heard either at home or in my neighborhood when I was growing up in the '40s and '50s.

More and more people are finally realizing that in the heart of America, there's all this incredible music that wasn't widely heard before because it wasn't in the interest of those who feel they have to control the taste of the wider public.

I pretty much move around wherever I like.

As a youngster, my parents made me aware that all that was from the African Diaspora belonged to me. So I came in with Caribbean music, African music, Latin music, gospel music and blues.

I was always taught that Latin, Caribbean people were cousins to me, as well as blues was a cousin to me, as well as Africans were direct relatives to me. It was all a part of my language.