We can't keep begging or expecting people to give us an opportunity to make a movie or to represent our culture in the right way. They're not from or neighborhoods and communities so of course they can't truly relate to our experience. It's our responsibility to properly protect our people and to properly give them opportunities for employment.

I realize it's about the artists and about the fans. Those are the people who truly have the power. It's like politics, we give away our power to representatives and we give it away to our President. That's what I'm showing with this 2-M-1 movement.

Of course the concept is to give people samples to get them hooked, I get that. But to continuously give away our music, that's the reason why you don't see [many] rap award shows anymore, the reason that you don't see rappers in commercials anymore; because we have allowed our music to be devalued.

My concern was first, for the black people of Mississippi, then I became concerned for black people nationwide, now my concern is for black people all over the world. I began to realize that it's not as much about race as we think it is. It's about the rich vs. the poor. I feel as if the different races are pitted against one another so we won't see the bigger (financial disparity) problem.

We have to be very clear about what we're doing to our music. We're giving away free albums. Now think about the psyche of the ordinary man, we don't respect anything that's free. Anything that we get easy has no validity.

We're trying to teach artists that if you're smart enough to develop the material, then you're smart enough to market and promote the album too.

Faith allows me to feel that as long as I'm in line with God everything will be O.K. and that I'll make it through whatever.