It's no doubt that there's a connection (between the blues and hip-hop). Hip-hop is definitely a child of the blues. And I think you gotta know the roots to really grow. It's like knowing your parents, it's like knowing your culture, so you could be proud of that culture and take it to the world.

Man, just believe in yourself, be able to dream, and know that there's going to be valleys and peaks. Always stay centered, and know that God is the key, the beginning and end of everything you do.

Black people in America have come from slavery to other forms of being oppressed and there are some things that come with that - some pain and anger that come with that and we as black people have to deal with it to heal that. White people have to understand it and have some compassion toward it.

It's no doubt that there's a connection (between the blues and hip-hop). Hip-hop is definitely a child of the blues. And I think you gotta know the roots to really grow. It's like knowing your parents, it's like knowing your culture, so you could be proud of that culture and take it to the world.

I've always been asked, "What type of character would you love to play?," and I've always said a pastor.

To me to be a storyteller is you got to be able to speak the truth. You've got to be able to absorb life and take in life and be able to interpret it in a way that anybody in this room could say, "Man, that's my story. I can relate to that."

God is my guide, so I try to not judge myself too much, knowing that at the end of the day, my greatest judge will be Jehovah God.