I constantly think as an artist, as a rapper of what are the stories you want to tell? They can't all be, "I'm ill, I'm fresh, look at me, I have money." At some point, when you have an audience for it, there are stories that need to be told.

One thing that's interesting for me is the alignment of the U.S., Israel, and India along Islamophobia and hate for an entire group of people, and India wanting to be like 'Hey U.S., we're just like you! We don't like Muslim people either!' For both parts of my identity, there's that theme of Islamophobia. That's pretty disgusting.

These days I mostly worry ‘bout my bank account/I ain’t backin’ out ‘til I own a bank to brag about.

Once Indians become more visible in pop culture and thus more humanized, then it actually chips away at discrimination. Especially after 9/11, it became important for those stories and that human element, for the Muslim, the Hindu, the Sheikh communities to be heard. That's what I hope I get at with the music.

I liked Bollywood a lot growing up; I just liked the idea of seeing people that looked like me on a big screen, that alone just does so much for confidence. I'm a super visual person, I need to see something before I do it.

My parents don't care what Americans think of us; we just care what the other Indian people in our community think of us.

I constantly think as an artist, as a rapper of what are the stories you want to tell? They can't all be, "I'm ill, I'm fresh, look at me, I have money." At some point, when you have an audience for it, there are stories that need to be told.