Esperanza Spalding: For all of the hype that Grammy created, it’s all died down now. And I just am reminding myself you don’t need all that to make incredible glorious art that touches a lot of people and can go really far. That should always, I think, be the predominant goal in your head because the music industry is always playing catch-up with what’s really happening. So if you’re out in the world trying to chase a version of what works, you’re already too late. All you can do is cultivate and bring out what you’re hearing based on your life and your dreams and your fears and your wishes. Bring it out the best you possibly can. Find people to help you bring it out better than you can do it by yourself, and then find the “demographic,” quote-unquote, or I just like to say, “the people in the world who will dig it,” because even if it’s one in a million, that’s still a lot of people who will like your music. And I guarantee you’ll be less likely to become an addict, alcoholic, womanizer, or sufferer of life. Which, there’s no good reason — if you won the womb lottery and you’re born in the “developed world” — you have to suffer through life. I think a lot of artists, they were born with this thing, this vision, this calling to do something that only they could see, and they compromise that for opportunity and exposure. I think they suffer greater than somebody who doesn’t get the notoriety but spends their whole life pursuing and developing their passion.