Photography by Gabriela Herman

Kamasi Washington

Musician

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

As a thinker. I love to think. It sounds simple, but to me thought is one of the most amazing things. It’s the vehicle that allows us to travel through the realm of possibilities, which is the biggest space there is.

““Thinking is the vehicle that allows us to travel through the realm of possibilities, which is the biggest space there is.””

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF IN YOUR INDUSTRY? LESS OF?

I know we live in a world that is dominated by money and the idea of money, but to me music is bigger than that. I wish that more artists and musicians got to create without having to think about the business. I’m not judging anyone for leveraging their art to sustain themselves, because we all have to do that. But I wish there was a little more space to create.

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR?

Before I really got serious about music as a teenager, I was known for two things: First, being kind of smart—kids would ask me for help in classes that I wasn’t even in. And second, being kind of feisty. I used to fight a lot, but I’m a hyper-peaceful person now. Maybe it’s because I’ve experienced the void of violence and what it can’t do.

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