Syd

At the end of the day, I represent myself first and foremost, and I'm not going to ever purposely try and misrepresent myself.

I lived in a pretty big house, and we had a guesthouse, so when I was 14, I built a studio in my bedroom, which was pretty big. It was two rooms connected, so I turned the second into a studio and ran the mic in my closet.

When I was 14 and I wanted to buy stuff, I didn't like asking for stuff from my parents, so I started a couple companies, and the last one ended up being my studio.

Kaytranada's a really cool dude.

I've realised that I actually like being by myself.

I like that I'm an engineer - it sets me apart from a lot of other artists.

I know that Shia LaBeouf and Fiona Apple went to my alma mater, Hamilton High.

I was 16 when I recorded 'Flashlight.' I produced it, made the beat, wrote it, recorded it.

My dad's a businessman, and I grew up looking up to him, how he dressed to go to work and, whenever I went to his office, how he spoke to people.

My dad makes me breakfast every morning; he's very worried about my nutrition.

It took me a very long time to be comfortable in my own skin.

Everybody in Odd Future is their own artist - they have their own friends and their own ideas for things - so we all spent quite a lot of time separated.

I want to be a great performer.

I'm not ashamed in the least bit of being gay or being a lesbian. I just prefer to call myself gay for some reason.

I've always been conscious not to take advantage of my sexual orientation because I don't think it's fair, and it shouldn't matter.

I'm kind of shy when it comes to women, so I don't really approach them. I'll just admire them from afar, and if they happen to say something to me, then maybe I'll find the courage to say something.

I feel like I'm real honest in my music. Even if it ends up being an exaggeration or a fantasy, it's a fantasy that's real to me.

I think everybody goes through times where they're vulnerable and then times where you're confident and cocky.

I think the selfie age is kind of making fame annoying.

For me, I'm just trying to keep it fun, keep it interesting, not get stuck on the same sound, the same wave for too long.

I remember my first albums: Brandy's first album and Usher's 'My Way.'

I think too many people are offended by stuff that doesn't matter.

I sing, but I'm not a singer. I'm just a producer who sings on her own songs because I can't find anybody else who sounds like me.

It kind of feels good to make something that you're proud of and it's also very real to you.

I love being part of a creative process, so having a band to work with is perfect for me.

I think I'm influenced a lot by Drake in specific ways in my writing.

As far as open conversations with random people, no I don't really enjoy them.

I don't really watch too many movies, but I try to watch inspirational pieces about other musicians. Musical documentaries truly inspire me.

I go through stages with all kinds of stuff. There'll be a couple of months where I'm reading, you know, like, fiction mystery novels, and there'll be a couple more where I'll be redecorating a room in my house.

I think that's what I learned a lot from Odd Future. I learned a lot of great things from them, but one of the mistakes that they made was that we didn't stay together, and we didn't communicate. We never had meetings. Everybody had issues with everybody else and wouldn't talk about it.

I grew up watching 'American Idol.'

Once we got signed, I moved out of my house because I was having teenage issues with my mom. It really wasn't my fault, looking back. You know, I'm gay; it's weird. It was one of the things. She has no problem with me being gay, but she had a problem with me dressing the way I do at first.

I think my first client other than my brother was this kid named Tallent. I was charging him eight dollars an hour to record in my room. He kept coming back, then I went up to ten dollars an hour.

For Odd Future, I only made beats for Mike G. With the Internet, I'm part of a production team making tracks for me to sing over.

Guitar Center hooks me up on a lot of stuff.

I use Logic or Reason and a midi keyboard for beats. If it's gonna have all live instruments in it, I'll probably use Pro Tools and have the band lay stuff down.

I've written songs about women since I've been involved with women, but I do know a few gay female artists who, back in the day, would write songs about men.

My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.

I never think I work hard enough, as much things I have on my plate.

I wish I could sing like Nelly.

I, for one, am, like, the most ordinary person. Like, people look past me all the time because I'm just so blending in.

Studying James Fauntleroy, I learned it's okay to write a bad song. Just write another one the next day and hope that it's better.

I don't even start singing anything until the mic is on and recording, because my first ideas are usually my best ones. So I'll just press record; I'll freestyle a whole three minutes.

I used to feel like I wasn't a good songwriter when I couldn't finish a song by myself.

I was really inspired, working with Odd Future.

I want to say I hate my generation, but I don't.

Justin Timberlake has a great live show.

I started taking vocal lessons steadily. I started taking it seriously.

It's weird: I don't really know where I pull my inspiration from. I think it's N.E.R.D.

I hate the word 'lesbian.'