I feel like when I'm writing for other people, when I'm doing rap hooks, it's kinda like playing dress up for me...

PJ Harvey

Categorized in : Writing Rap Playing Dress Up

I feel like "Not For Long" was one for me just because I got to work with two people that I looked up to...

two long people

Like I have to pretend like I'm a male rapper, that I got stacks and we're in the club, and what do I want to say. And then, when writing Rare I could just be PJ.

pjs rapper writing

I've always been very interested in the visual aspect of what I d... by PJ Harvey

I've always been very interested in the visual aspect of what I do.

visuals aspect

At this point in my life, I'm probably not gonna be able to stop writing because it's gonna help me be able to do what I need to do.

able writing needs

Never settle for anything less than you want. by PJ Harvey

Never settle for anything less than you want.

never-settle settling want

[I] try to do both because the writing for me, to be a new artist, the writing is gonna pay the bills.

artist writing trying

I always wanted to be an artist. I think I was just waiting on somebody to approve me and be like, "Oh, okay, you should be an artist," you know 'cause it wasn't until I stopped looking for approval that I could actually do it.

artist waiting thinking

Folk music was to strengthen and unify people, whether it was through an uprising and rebellion or whether is was through hard work, bringing in crops. But it was to strengthen each other and that's still what music is about today.

uprising hard-work people

Any of these contemporary war situations, whether civilian or soldier on either side - that's what I was interested in. The people who are being affected. Not so much the political speak at the top of the food chain, but the people who are affected by it on the ground.

political war people

I never feel that I have to adopt a character. It's more the way I choose to present the music and that's always based on what is right for the song.

song character way

[Writing] has helped me meet people. by PJ Harvey

[Writing] has helped me meet people.

writing people

What Rare [albom] allows me to do is gonna show people other things that I'm capable of 'cause they really haven't heard a lot of things outside of the rap stuff that I do.

rap stuff people

I was working with D'Mile - he's amazing! And I don't know, it was like that guitar riff was so crazy to me, and so I think I was frustrated about something that happened earlier and I feel like I'm just a good guy, I don't cut people off, I don't really call people out when they do stuff that they should be called out on, and I'm just always the one being the bigger person. So, that day "Gangster" just came out. That's just how I feel in that day to day life.

cutting crazy thinking

I've always been very politically interested from a very young age and I hadn't felt that was something I could begin to bring into my songwriting because I hadn't felt I'd reached the stage, that I had the skill with language enough, yet, to do that.

skills enough age

It [ "Not For Long"] was the biggest song that I've had, and I actually heard it on the radio multiple times.

radio song long

I think you have to be very careful getting the balance right if you're going to talk about grand themes like war, death and nationhood. You need to use the right language or don't do it at all.

balance war thinking

In the past members of my family on both my mother's and father's side have fought in the war, in the first and second World Wars. Unfortunately, they're dead and I wasn't able to speak to them, but that was in our family history too.

mother war father

I had a chip on my shoulders 'cause I felt like I was being overl... by PJ Harvey

I had a chip on my shoulders 'cause I felt like I was being overlooked.

chips shoulders causes

I was really influenced by a lot of Disney soundtracks, because that's what I used to watch all the time, and they always put music in it, which is why I tend to have popular melodies over harder beats.

soundtracks used watches

I was like just writing and writing and then I kinda developed my sound. And then, my managers were like, "Okay, we're gonna try to get a deal." And then first it was Interscope, and then it was Atlantic. And then, I ended up signing with Atlantic, but it was like a long process, a really long... it was A LONG PROCESS. I feel like it took me two years to do it.

writing two years