Jon Batiste talks award-winning music, powerful Black women and musical goals with Apple Music 1

It’s a celebration these days for Jon Batiste. The popular musician has stepped up to speak on a flurry of topics with Apple Music 1’s Ebro Darden from making award-winning tunes to the impact of his grandmother’s heroics during Hurricane Katrina in the mid-2000’s.

Check out some interview highlights and kick back to see JB chop it up.

Jon Batiste Tells Apple Music About The Possibility of Writing a Musical To Complete His EGOT…

I've got to write a musical now. I got to write a musical. I actually might do that. I'm working on something right now. I don't want to say too much about it. It's based on the book I really like. If we can get the rights we working on getting the rights to it.

Jon Batiste Tells Apple Music About The Message of His Award-Winning Album ‘WE ARE’…

'We Are' is really a proclamation that Black culture is quintessential American culture. To express the level of innovation and the foresight in establishing modern democracy in America. And then the reluctance to recognize Black genius in the foundation of that. But then for it to emerge anyway. For it to emerge anyway, and to become a part of everything.

Jon Batiste Tells Apple Music About The Link Between Black Culture and Activism…

The idea of Black culture and what it took to get is a real thing. And it's got to be protected and understood. And it is universal. And my family, to go back to what you were saying about coming up, growing up in New Orleans and that role of activism in music, you got to remember that there was a time where you couldn't be on a stage and not in some way be representing your people. You couldn't be on a stage and it not be some kind of statement about your humanity or affirming your right to be there. Paul Robeson on stage at Carnegie hall, Mahalia Jackson and Duke Ellington. Music was integrated before sports. We don't talk about that. Talk about jazz bandstand, that was integrated first. And the statement of being there, and that's not that long ago. It wasn't that long ago to think that that was something that had to be fought for. And now we still are fighting for other things. It's more sophisticated marginalization on a lot of levels, but we are still making statements whether we know it or not is all I'm saying. So it's better to make a conscious, informed statement and know the holistic perspective. And that's all I believe activism really is about. It's about affirming humanity, as you said, and about knowing the full perspective and using your agency to make this generation progress.

Jon Batiste Tells Apple Music About His Grandmother and Recognizing The Contributions of Strong Black Women…

My grandmother, we escaped Katrina together. We were in the cold, my whole family, and my grandmother and we drove as Katrina was flooding the city out of New Orleans to Texas. Strong women are the backbone of Black families. I'm moved just thinking about how much they gave to us and how they gave with grace. It feels like we are in a time where I hope we're beginning to recognize that more, in the depth of importance of that, remembering those figures, there's a lot of unsung heroes.