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You said your mom was just in town.
How was hanging out with her?It was good.
I basically made her forget about it.
I dont like standing there and playing songs for anybody.
I didnt want to be there, but I also wanted to see what her face looked like.
And she had the funniest review.
Thats so poetic!I know!
I was like, Thats good, Mom.
So she liked it?I dont know!
I thought of that later.
She also at some point said, It must be so hard to be you!
Does it ever smooth out?
Is she a writer?Not professionally, but she definitely could be.
Shes great with words.
How close are you to being done?Its really up to me.
Itll be done soon.
Its just I have to do artwork and stuff, and Ive been dragging my feet a little bit.
Sometime in a few months, I guess.
I know what the title is, but Im not gonna say right now.
Ive been thinking about colors and stuff, but I havent really done anything.
Do you think youll tour with this album?I want to and I dont want to.
Its so scary for me, all that stuff.
Im pushing it out of my mind.
Theyre all in other bands, so they have other schedules.
I hope you do.
So lets talk about the donations.
Every time somebody has a cause, you just know somebody is giving them things to say.
We all know that the border is pretty much closed off to all asylum seekers.
The people on the other side, I dont know how to help them.
Like when they come from the warm side of the border and in NYC its cold.
They need warm clothing, food, cell phones to navigate the system.
The fund is giving them the money to do these things.
I think its amazing, to dedicate all of this money and energy to this issue.Thank you.
I dont know that Ive dedicatedthatmuch energy on it.[Laughs.
]It just feels so right.
Im interested in the actual people this is going to.
I want to hear about it.
Because its opened up a whole world to me that I care about so much.
Are you planning on meeting or speaking to any of them?Id love to.
Oh, come into this room, say hello to this person and take pictures.
Theres a good reason, if nothing else, to go on tour!
I say that totally selflessly with no personal motive.[Laughs.
]I know, right?
Do it for the pit bulls!
Its only a couple years at the end [of a stretch].
For the rest of the time, I dont play my piano for years.
I forget how to play everything.
I forget that Im a musician, really, and then I have to learn again.
The climate of art and the music industry is so ridiculous.
I feel terrible that anybody would want to be No.
1 as badly asJustin Bieber wants to be No.
Why is it so important?
And Im not gonna be, like, getting influencers to promote my shit.
Thats not gonna happen.
So I feel like Im stepping back into a business where, like Im not in this business.
Thats what it feels like its become: a game.
A video game, basically.
Its pretty sad.Its very sad.
And with YouTube going to charts …
I dont read this stuff because Im in this business.
Its just really interesting to me.
Its the downfall of civilization.
And why, why do you want to be an influencer?
Though I dont think you’re gonna wanna play that game, necessarily.
The reaction to our first conversation was that people were just so happy to hear anything from you.Thank you.
By the way, Jennifer Lopez was amazing inHustlers.Constance Wu was amazing.
And I fucking love that the whole thing was about their friendship.
It was so beautiful.
And obviously the dance was amazing.
I totally forgot that my song was playing during it.
You know what I loved?
That scene where Ramona is teaching Destiny the moves and its classical music in the background.
I couldve watched them pole-dance to classical music forever.
Ill be so embarrassed if she saw [what I said].
Look who gets the recognition and whos ignored again and again.
Its true of almost every awards show.
The Grammys, too.
Everything feels flawed.They never are [recognizing the right people].
Its for a movie they did five years ago that they didnt get the award for.
This world is bullshit!You said it.[Laughs.]Yes.
And I immediately loved her voice, of course.
It was so easy to hang with her.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
