Be driven, be focused, but enjoy every moment, because it only happens once.

The climate of today is not really focused as much as it was then on being able to speak about different cultural issues or different situations that were going on politically.

I've always been very private, maybe because I discovered my mother, who is a wonderful lady, is very emotional.

You can't really compare people. That's one of the biggest lessons I've learned, because comparing yourself to someone else really stops you from being who you are.

Music is funny. I shouldn't even ever talk about music, because you can have all the ideas in your head, and it never goes exactly the way that you think it's gonna go.

When I was a kid I'd practise Chopin on piano - and I love Chopin! He's my dawg! Then I'd go out on the stoop and blast the radio. I'm from New York, the concrete jungle. Hip-hop influenced me from day one.

Oh My God, the [hip-hop] videos! The imagery is so awful! I just can't get with it at all. The best thing I can say about it is that sometimes you have to see that kind of stuff so as to have a more balanced view about why it's so bad.