Hair pieces and head dresses have always been something that's been part of my culture.

I don't really feel there's rules in my everyday wear. I kind of do whatever the hell I want to do.

It's a lot of work being an indie artist, but it's worth it.

'Armor On' explains why I needed armor in the first place. Sonically, you'll hear this battle of, 'I love you, no I don't. I love you, I hate you.' That's what you'll feel. You see the story kind of fight against itself.

I've had two platinum albums. I have worked with thousands of people. But the most rewarding feeling is to see people on Twitter say, 'Do you see what Dawn and them are doing? They are number one.' It's the most rewarding feeling because of all the tears, all the bad stuff, and the people that said I couldn't do it.

I like being in charge. I like being able to control my own destiny and ideas.

I'm okay with being the oddball.

I lived in the library with my grandmother as a child. I still love the smell of books; the library card is still my friend.

There's always going to be a fight between mainstream and underground because the mainstream is a very small bubble, and the underground scene is a very small bubble, and they both see themselves as secret societies. But I never saw it that way. I always thought music was open to all things.

I really got back to my New Orleans roots - my grandfather played with Fats Domino. We had to leave after Katrina, but I feel like, spiritually, I'm back there.

A lot of 'Blackheart' was me, literally in a dark room, confessing my sins; Poe was the influence for that album. But that melancholy has a hopefulness - in every Poe story, there is always a moral at the end.

When I was growing up, there was no one. There were very few black women in tech; there were very few black women in the fashion game. We didn't have our Grace Jones - Grace Jones was before my time. We didn't really have a lot of black women in electronic and punk who were celebrated in the same levels as, say, your big mega-superstars.

It's always interesting when you're doing things yourself - getting the lighting, getting everybody together. It's exciting.

I don't wish homelessness on anyone, especially when you come from where your parents work hard.

When I was 4, I had a schedule. I was playing softball. My brother was playing football. My parents were teachers, and they'd owned businesses. We like to work hard. Work and then books. Books and then work. We just knew that we had to excel. It sounds militant, but trust me, it was fun.

I watched my parents lose everything, from a house to birth certificates. We were homeless for about six months, then we stayed in Baltimore, and my parents got jobs.

I'm not a very open person.

It doesn't bother me when I'm labeled, but it's so... limiting. It's so boxy.

I want to show that you can be just as amazing as labels and compete as a business and work as a business even though you're an artist.

'Blackheart' was the moment for me to really open up and let people into the world that is me.

There's definitely that tribal Africana thing going on in my sound. It's that marching band, second-line music, that Creole-influence in the kick, and the snare that drives everything for me. I think it's really what's separated my sound from a lot of the R&B and pop music out there.

I'm big on showing people versatility. I'm constantly trying to push myself to break barriers and the idea that we have to stay in one lane.

I come from an era where lyrics were full of imagery and metaphor, and that's all I know. I think people miss that.

I connect so much with Peter Gabriel's sound because, to me, he always had that South African vibe. His drums were always something to move to: it was almost like Calypso. I'm a big fan.

There's a fine line between artist and product. I don't think the industry purposely does it, but I think that's just the way they maneuver. You have to be careful that doesn't become your story, where you become a product, and your art is tarnished because you're just seen as a tool to make money.

My uncle is in the hall of fame for creating by hand some of the most intricate Indian Mardi Gras garb.

When you see what you really are, good or bad, there is a fearlessness to understanding your purpose.

R&B needs to see a new light. It doesn't have to be pigeonholed.

The problem with Danity Kane is everybody wanted to play everybody's role, and when you're in a group like that, that can't survive.

Everyone who knows Puff knows Puff rolls with himself. His hustle is money. That's what he does.

I got in the audition line called 'Making the Band' because I wanted to be in a band. If I didn't, I would have done 'American Idol.'

Stay humble, be fearless, and work, work, work, work, work, work.

Believe in yourself, go after your dreams, and don't let anyone put you in a box.

I will wear makeup because I want to look good for myself, but it's not to please other people. It's not so I fit in with the pretty girls or to impress guys.

I remember looking out into the sea of phone lights as Chris Martin belted 'Yellow' on the piano and deciding that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

If I'm going to release anything into the world, I want it to have a positive message. So I think that 'Sit Still, Look Pretty' and 'Hide Away' were two upbeat pieces, and their messages really uplift me the most.

The 'Chainsmokers' found me early on, before anyone knew about 'Hide Away,' and reached out. I heard the demo for 'Don't Let Me Down' and loved it.

I love New Orleans. I love jazz. I grew up practicing jazz piano, and that's just been such a cool genre to me. There's a lot of talent there.

I performed in Redlands, Calif., at Splash Kingdom. It reminded me of the water parks I went to as a kid. I was like, 'I want to ride the rides!'

I like the fact that I have the power to convey a lot of emotion through my songs. I like to channel that when I'm singing. I think it's just a mix of R&B, soul, but then I kind of move more into the pop world and electronic pop and stuff like that.

I think Labrinth is an amazing writer and an amazing singer. His voice is just so magnetic. There are so many people that I would work with inside and outside of pop.

I am still very independent in my real life, and that's why I'm always trying to get out of relationships prematurely.

I started traveling, performing, doing photo shoots and working on new music. At the same time, I was juggling homework and trying not to miss out on too many experiences during my junior and senior years - like prom and graduation.

I was invited to L.A. when I was 16 for a weekend-long songwriting session by a writer I had met through my voice teacher in Pittsburgh. My first hit, 'Hide Away,' was one of the songs written during those sessions. It was played for a radio rep who then started a new label; the song got a pretty organic start at radio and then took off.

I try to write catchy hooks but, at the same time, things that mean something that will provoke thought.

I'm always working on new projects.

In terms of role modelling for younger kids, I never really censor myself.

When 'Hide Away' first started gaining a bit of momentum, I was visiting at least two radio stations per day - sometimes in different cities - to spread the word about the song. It was a hustle, but so worth it.

A stadium tour would be amazing - that's definitely one of my goals. Just to keep putting out real, honest music that people can really relate to and connect with.

My dad was the one who took me to concerts and introduced me to new artists. One time, he drove me from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., on a school night to see 'U2' - he was a pretty dedicated Bono fan.