When I commit, I commit with my whole heart, my whole being. I know the Bible like the back of my hand.

I woke up one morning, went downstairs, said 'Good morning' to my mother and nearly scared both of us to death.'

I quit high school on my birthday. It was my senior year and I didn't see the point. This was 1962, and I was ready to make music.

When I saw corruption, I was forced to find truth on my own. I couldn't swallow the hypocrisy.

I'm never gonna quit, cause quitting' just ain't my schtick.

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.

If you were a young kid, 19, 20 years old who has two children and a third one on the way and refuses to leave them. A kid who was on welfare, because he refused to steal anybody's property or take anybody's money. You found life a lot tougher.