I like to consider myself a student of hip hop. There's a certain level of certification and wit and craftsmanship that comes with rapping. As rap progresses - it's a young genre - it's becoming way more mainstream, crossing over to different lanes. I feel like it's losing its essence in a way, because it's getting commercialised. I want to keep it fresh and keep it progressive, but I also want to respect the foundation of what rap is about.

I want to be respected as a writer and, like I said, I was really sick of people saying I was a two dimensional character. I want more to my legacy, I guess.

Now I'm in the business and I do have to have these awkward conversations about how I look, how I talk. But I'm still here.

Every time someone asks me who I want to work with, my answer is always the same: whoever wants to work with me that won't want to get their ego stroked.

I think it's very important that LGBT narratives are spoken from LGBT perspectives. I think that what I do is important as far as creating a lane for myself to be independent.

I think what's keeping me making music - the money is great, but I make music for the visibility.

I was just doing it for fun. I was in college recording music as a joke, so I really didn't think that a career was feasible - being able to travel.