I'd have to say the best part of being successful is being able to take care of my mom so she never has to worry about anything again and also being able to put my friends and people I care about in positions to win.

If you think about rap and how it has become so much easier to record music and release it, and you think about everyone in the world being a 'rapper' these days, it's so much easier. But it's still as hard as ever to break through and truly be successful in this industry.

When you're choosing the track list and the sequencing, it's important to make sure that there's some strong concepts on there and that it matters and it says something... that it sticks with people.

It's a really good time for California right now in music.

When you put a tour together you really just think about who you'd like on your bill, who would make sense and who you would want to live with basically for a couple months and be around with and work with.

I've matured as a person and so has the music... It's gotten more sophisticated and interesting I think.

Just wearing all black comes from Johnny Cash. I'm on the road so much that if I wear all black my clothes never get dirty. You can't tell if I've worn the same shirt twice.