Creativity Quote by Smokey Robinson

“Songwriting is my gift from God” sounds like humility, but it’s also a quietly muscular claim of authority. Smokey Robinson isn’t saying he got lucky or worked hard (though he did both); he’s framing his craft as something bestowed, almost inevitable. That matters in a business that loves to treat Black genius as either “natural” (and therefore undervalued) or manufactured (and therefore disposable). By invoking God, Robinson steps out of the marketplace’s logic and into a moral register: this isn’t just a job, it’s a calling.

The subtext is protection as much as praise. A “gift” implies responsibility and stewardship, not just ego. It also deflects the corrosive pressure to constantly justify yourself to executives, critics, and trend cycles. If the source is divine, then the work can be measured by fidelity to the gift rather than by charts alone. That’s a psychologically savvy stance for an artist whose sound helped define Motown’s assembly-line efficiency while still depending on intimate emotional precision.

Context sharpens the line. Robinson came up in an era when Black songwriters were often separated from ownership, credit, and long-term leverage. Declaring songwriting as sacred frames it as something that can’t be fully extracted by contracts. It’s also a nod to gospel’s deep imprint on soul and R&B: the romantic becomes devotional, the hook becomes testimony. In one sentence, Robinson claims grace, asserts authorship, and reminds you that craft can be both disciplined labor and something you’re obligated to honor.