I don't have a problem removing people from around me. They could be around for a long time, and I could get comfortable or used to them, and then I can just get rid of them.

People are like plants: They grow; they change every day.

When you work for others, you are at their mercy. They own your work; they own you. Your creative spirit is squashed. What keeps you in such positions is a fear of having to sink or swim on your own. Instead you should have a greater fear of what will happen to you if you remain dependent on others for power. Your goal in every maneuver in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours, it is yours to lose - you are more motivated, more creative, more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.

I have received 16 Grammy nominations and I have no trophies, because I chose to write the harsh realities. I stayed true to myself and I've taken a little beating behind it.

I never had working papers. I never had a job. I sold crack until I got in the music, so this is the best thing that happened to me and I do it excessively.

My past is my shadow, it follows me everywhere I go. Well, all those things come from when I had no other choice. They put my back against the wall. I do what I gotta do.

Eating well was something I learned as I started to be successful and had to travel and perform concerts, which are an intense cardio workout.