The Afro-American experience is the only real culture that America has. Basically, every American tries to walk, talk, dress and behave like African Americans.

I've got to where I am in life not because of something I brought to the world but through something I found - the wealth of African culture.

It's obvious that the rest of the world loves high African culture - African culture, period.

I had to run away from home in order to be a musician. Because I came from a family of... my father was a health inspector; my mother was a social worker. And I was pretty smart in school. So they expected me to be some kind of academic - schoolteacher, or doctor, lawyer - and they were very disappointed when I told them I wanted to be a musician.

I grew up with protests, marches, demonstrations, struggle. But I come from a clan of community workers.

All my experiences removed geography from my world.

Africa has been troubled for a long time - well, the world has been troubled ever since I was born.