I have always tried to keep an honest, age-appropriate line of communication open with my daughter,India, even during the teen years, a painful time of development when they usually shut down, and the last person they want to speak to is a parent. But India would always tell me what was going on, so I really encourage people to be as open with your children as you possibly can.

I'm trying to laugh uncontrollably with whoever I'm making a song with because whatever we just listened to that we just came up with is so dope. I'm chasing that feeling in the studio, not like a trend or what's hot on the radio at the moment. It just seems like the more I do that, the better I get at what I do. I'm going to keep doing that.

If you're mourning, cry, scream and purge whatever is going on inside you emotionally. That's part of the process. And keep those that love you very close as you go through it.

If I want to be moved by the track, I don't want it to be sequenced, I want it to be somebody playing the guitar or piano or a horn arrangement where you can hear the breath. You can almost smell the studio while listening to the music. For me, that's what moves me emotionally, that's what I came from. I think that's always going to work best for me.

What's working for me is like when I go into the studio, I'm trying to get goosebumps.

I am now in a place where I have to be truer to myself first before anyone else. If you're not real, how can you expect others to be real with you? The older you get; you aim to have an understanding of who you are as a person. But, I can honestly say, I am a better me than I've ever been in younger years.

I like to leave all of my soul on the stage where I perform.