My grandma Ricky - that's where I got classic look from. She was the most stylish person ever. She had her own clothing store and even her furniture was stylish. I got my "Flashy, but classy" motto from her, too. Whenever she walked in the room, she was always the most stylish person in the room.

Mayer Hawthorne

Categorized in : Grandma Classic Motto

I DJ all the time, as much as I possibly can. I'll never stop. That's my security blanket, that's what I'm good at. I still consider myself a better DJ than a singer. I can DJ in my sleep.

Mayer Hawthorne

blanket singers sleep

Even when I was a hip-hop DJ I always kept it classy. The motto is always 'flashy but classy.' You've got to be original and stand out from the crowd and take some chances. But you've always got to keep it classy.

Mayer Hawthorne

crowds hips hip-hop

Marvin Gaye was the ultimate ladies' man and a big part of that was the way he dressed. If you're having trouble getting ladies, step your suit game up and see the difference. Walk into a bar in a tailored suit and I guarantee every girl will check you out.

Mayer Hawthorne

girl games men

I just want to make music as long as I can and reach as many people as I can.

Mayer Hawthorne

want long people

A big part of the Motown formula was, they took music and turned it into this sort of automotive assembly line. They were cranking out 10 songs a day in that studio, or more.

Mayer Hawthorne

assembly lines song

I didn't appreciate Mick Jagger until I got older, and mainly because of the Mick Jagger swagger. He defined that for the world. He was bold and adventurous with it, too - just the ultimate rock star.

Mayer Hawthorne

rocks appreciate stars

Hip-hop was my first real love, one that was my own and wasn't my parents' music. Initially, I was inspired by hip-hop fashion. Over the years, I kept the hip-hop sensibility, but make it my own.

Mayer Hawthorne

inspired fashion real

That's one of the most important things to me is that Detroit and Ann Arbor got my back. If you don't have hometown love, then what's the point?

Mayer Hawthorne

arbors detroit important

I think that Detroiters are some of the most resilient people in the world.

Mayer Hawthorne

people world thinking

I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get Mayer Hawthorne.

Mayer Hawthorne

soul together thinking

Having stuff that fits you perfectly makes the craziest difference. I remember the first times that I was introduced to that - having a shirt that's actually tailored to your body and not just made for your average American. It just changes your life.

Mayer Hawthorne

changing-your-life fit remember

I try to make sure that I make music that can stand the test of time.

Mayer Hawthorne

test-of-time tests trying

I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.

Mayer Hawthorne

expecting band people

Nowhere on earth has more soul than Detroit.

Mayer Hawthorne

detroit soul earth

Barry White is my musical hero. He was the guy who you danced to in the club and then when you took your lady home to the bedroom, you listened to him there, too! That's who I always wanted to be - the guy who was always there.

Mayer Hawthorne

guy hero home

My dad taught me to play bass. He's a bass player; he still plays in a band in Michigan to this day. He taught me to play bass when I was about 6. I used to just go to band practice with him, and whoever didn't show up for rehearsal that day, I would take their spot.

Mayer Hawthorne

dad player practice

I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.

Mayer Hawthorne

nerd computer school

I never have, but I would love to pick R. Kelly's brain.

Mayer Hawthorne

r-kelly picks brain

I'm trying to just drop so much music that people cannot ignore it.

Mayer Hawthorne

trying people

I make soul music for hip-hop heads. It's music I'd want to sample if I were a rapper.

Mayer Hawthorne

rapper hip-hop soul