I love 'Harry Potter' and JK Rowling - don't laugh at me!

For me, growing up in Harlem and then migrating down to SoHo and the Lower East Side and chillin' down there and making that my stomping ground... That was a big thing, because I'm from Harlem, and downtown is more artsy and also more open-minded. So I got the best of both worlds.

There's just so much out there and so much inspiration... I just want to be tasteful.

People don't make albums any more. It's always about singles. I wanted to take that old-school approach.

I don't even like New York rappers.

I just want my fans to grow up and enjoy the music first, I don't want to change the world that's not what my music is about.

I was ashamed to let anyone know that I was living in a shelter. I remember one time coming home and some kids saw me and were like, "What you doing here? This is a shelter!" But I was like, "My mom's working there." It was pretty embarrassing.