Aloe Blacc
Aloe Blacc
Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III, known as Aloe Blacc, is an American soul artist, vocalist, songwriter, actor, record producer, businessman and musician. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", UK No. 1 single "The Man", and for writing and performing vocals on Avicii's "Wake Me Up", which charted at #1 in 22 countries...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSoul Singer
Date of Birth7 January 1979
CityLaguna Beach, CA
CountryUnited States of America
So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself And I didn't know I was lost
You can feel a lot of things, and that's okay. Channel that into your passion.
I think a lot of self-identity and inner-personal development is hampered by consumerism and capitalism because we see ourselves as a reflection of the TV, rather than as a reflection of the people who are around us, truly.
People need to spread love towards strangers. We all bleed the same blood and we are all part of a global community now.
In school, I studied psychology, linguistics, neuroscience. I understand that there is a real lack of respect for the brain.
I've become more introverted as I've got older. I used to be an outgoing person who joked around a lot, but as the amount of energy I expend by sharing my music has increased, I like to balance it by spending time by myself and recuperating.
Salsa, classic rock, soul music, jazz... all of that was a part of my education in making hip-hop music.
America's biggest export is media and I think that's a positive thing.
Industry executives sacrificed art for what sells and mega-stars now saturate the market with the same tired lyrics.
What do you actually need? Food, clothing and shelter. Everything else is entertainment.
I continue to write songs that are topically related to social, political and economic issues of our time, but I also recognize that onstage, I have a lot of fun and audiences have a lot of fun, so I'm trying to package the messages in music and sounds that are fun to perform and fun to listen to.
When I started out, I wrote the songs, recorded the songs, mastered, mixed, did the artwork, made the packaging and did the distribution, all myself. Now I understand what everyone's jobs are, who is doing them right, and who isn't.
We develop social systems for the handicapped, but when you're handicapped in your mind, society doesn't handle those situations well. I think we don't recognize or acknowledge the power of messages and how deeply affected we all are by the messages we receive from the media.
People in the Middle East may consider the U.S. an evil hegemony that has tainted their culture, but when I look at the growth of racial and ethnic tolerance and understanding in my generation in the U.S., and see those sentiments make it around the world, it makes me feel proud.