"My name is Jidenna, which means 'to hold or embrace the father' in Igbo. It was my father who gave me this name and who taught me countless parables, proverbs, and principles that made me the man I am today."
"I am, always have been, and always will be proud of my Nigerian heritage."
"When I brought home a 98 percent on a test, my father would say, 'Ah, ah, where are the other two points? Go and get them, then bring them back.' My father and Nigerian culture has always stood for excellence."
"While the majority of my childhood memories are beautiful, I also have experienced the challenges that Nigeria has faced since independence."
"America is haunted by an apparition steeped in slavery, and I wanted to remind everyone that, 'Yo, we've got to handle this.'"
"Most of the suits I try to wear are bespoke."
"I work predominantly with tailors from Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal."
"A classic man is a distinguished man. He cares about taste and his craft. He's all about the simple model that I live by - eat, drink, be swanky, and have fun getting the job done. He makes sure that he's excellent in all things and that he cares about his neighborhood immensely."
"I myself have been scrutinized by militarized police, but I know officers who actually handle themselves in a certain way that makes me feel safe."
"You love who you love. I happen to just love a lot of women."
"Ever since the decision of Robin Thicke and Pharrell, we believe that it was important to make sure that we are safe. When that Robin Thicke verdict came out, we realized that the game had changed in music."
"I think each artist lives with purpose. A strong sense of purpose. We know who's come before us."
"When hip-hop came along, men and women started dressing down as a form of rebellion."
"All across this world, especially within the African diaspora, we feel like there is a constant devaluing of our culture and our livelihood."
"People thought 'Classic Man' was processed. But then they realized, 'Oh, this guy actually is that man, and he actually dresses like that.'"
"Swanky means classy and funky."
"I was raised in Nigeria, and my mother is white, but I never saw her as white, not until I came to America. She was just my mother. She didn't really have a color."
"Not unlike our country's history, my personal history was founded upon an unfortunate history of racial conflict between black and white."
"My style is not specific to the antebellum South, but it's heavily inspired by the Jim Crow era."
"I wanted to remind myself and others of the old Jim Crow, so that we can remind ourselves that we're still living in the new Jim Crow. I feel it's important to dress in the fashion of the times."
"I've gone down several paths. I started school as an engineer, but underneath it all, I knew I wanted to use instruments, not build them."
"For me, it's important that as you're introducing yourself, you show different dimensions."
"I think it's the job of the artist to reflect the times and also reflect his or her views of the world."
"Like most people, I had several awakenings."
"When I originally came to the U.S., my mother came with a couple hundred dollars to her name. I didn't know we were struggling because she hid that from me. But it was definitely a struggle to get through life and get through school."
