I've always loved War's Low Rider and Sly Stone's Thank You, and I just wanted to put my take on them.

There's a time when people give their words to each other it has to mean something. I'm a street cat. I've belonged in gangs and when you had a partner, you went down with your partner whether you won the fight or lost it. You went down together.

I don't know if it's my music, my lyrics, my sound and knowing the music business the way I do - all I can say is, my career has lasted way longer than I expected.

All I had was the will and the love for music. I couldn't read music or write it. No connections, no car, no money, no bankroll, no clothes, no nothing.

As a boy, I believed freedom for America meant freedom for me. There was a time I believed every word spoken.

Elton John's opinion turned the label's opinion around, all in a day.

The cops picked me up for attempted murder. I can still see the detectives, licking their chops. Thought they had me. Two weeks later, the cat came out of a coma and told the truth. I was innocent.