QUOTES by MNEK
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I make pop music. I make music that is pretty commercial. But, at the same time, I'm a minority within a minority and it can be challenging. I feel validated about what I'm doing when I meet fellow black gay men or black gay women.
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I think there's so many amazing LGBTQ artists, ranging from commercial to underground, that are influencing people at large.
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I lost a lot of weight. No carbs for a good six or seven months. It was tough but I looked hot.
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One of my best friends is quite into rap, and I'm always being introduced to music by him.
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That's the cool thing that music can do: make you feel this or that way. That's all I've ever wanted to achieve - I'm a music guy, you know? That's my occupation.
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I'm touching people, helping people, and I'm making music I love. I like to think a lot of other black queer artists feel that way too.
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I almost get quite scared talking about it. It's happened, obviously. I did meet Madonna and I did work with her.
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I'm very thankful that I'm in a position where I'll never be without a session. I'll always have someone who will want to get in the studio with me, or there'll always be someone that I'll wanna get in the studio with.
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One of my first songs I ever got a decent cut on was with a songwriter out of Xenomania, called 'All Fired Up' for the Saturdays.
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I've waited for the day my debut album is released my entire life, so naturally I've designed it to be listened to from start to finish - so every song flows into each other in a way that tells a sonic story.
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The Big Music Project gives young people access to producers, managers, set designers, artists and a load of other industry insiders who are at top of their game. It can be difficult to know where to start and this project gives young people who are passionate about music, knowledge and hands on experience.
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I don't think there's been many chances for people to see a black, gay, pop experience and that's what I want to have with my shows moving forward.
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They saw that it was a passion of mine from really young... My parents did a good job. They wanted me to win. They let me do all these things. If some old guy came to the house asking, 'I want your kid to sign a contract,' they were so open to it. Yeah, I credit them loads.
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So the Madonna thing, I wrote a song with Diplo, she liked it, tweaked it and then made it her own and it became 'Hold Tight.'
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There's an underlying sense with 'Tongue' that... it's really... it's real. I mean that in the sense that now I'm not afraid to touch on relationships and on my sexuality in my videos.
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I started out writing and producing as a way for me to get the confidence to put out my own record and to learn and to really be a student of the industry.
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I understand, as an artist as well as a producer, the need for there to be mystery and surprise.
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I don't feel pressure, I think there's fun to have. And I want to show that being gay and of color doesn't have to be a sob story all the time. It can actually be really jokes and empowering.
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I love writing and producing but I don't think a lot of people know my artist stuff.
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I'm from Nigerian descent, and the classic Nigerian mentality is 'Stay in school! You're going to be a doctor, you're going to be a lawyer.' That is what it is. Thankfully my parents knew my situation was different because I definitely didn't want to be a doctor, I definitely didn't want to be a lawyer.
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I naturally make commercial music: it's never been a calculated decision to make pop music. I'm a genuine pop music fan.
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It's not that some songs are for radio and some songs aren't, I'm just making whatever I feel.
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There's always so much stuff to do. I work best when my diary just says 'MNEK, MNEK, MNEK.'
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My visual medium is my videos, and I've got to feel as though I can put my truth in that.
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The thing about Auto-Tune is it can't fix everyone. It only fixes pitch. Everything else - the emotion and the attack and the energy? That's what a singer is.
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For me, I've written and produced for pop singers, but, like, female pop - I love that. I think it's putting me in the game that I love girl pop. All my writing is inspired by it.
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If I'm writing a tune with someone I'm making sure it's what they wanna say and it's articulating what they have to share.
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There are so many amazing out, gay, black artists who are really great in their own fields, but they aren't necessarily trying to make pop music. I guess my thing is different because I am trying to be part of that world. But doing it my way.
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I use Auto-Tune but it's not to mask anything. If you come to see me live, I can sing on the spot. Auto-tune is just for the recording. It keeps everything really precise.
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I mean, London has shaped me as a person. My parents are Nigerian so I've had the luxury of blending different cultures together just through my everyday life.
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I often make a joke of my parents, because I come from a Nigerian background and there's a stereotype in the Nigerian community that all of us are going to be doctors and lawyers, and that's just how it is. But upon reflection, my parents were always really supportive of me doing music.
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