The best thing to do is to write about what you know, and if you write about what you know you can always pull those nice little tidbits that hook people, that shows that you know about this world and can bring people into a world that they may not know nothing about.

I did Are We There Yet? because I wanted to do a movie for my fans' kids. Black kids don't really see movies on this budget for them, starring them. And there's so many white kids that love that movie.

If it was all about me, I'd do a whole lot of pop records, make a whole lot of money, just rake in the dough. But it's never been all about me. It's all about being a voice for the voiceless. People who can't speak for themselves, who don't have a mic, don't have a say.

People are still tied to their hoods, and it's usually not the artist, it's usually the friends and instigators who get it popping.

Rap is just somebody getting something off his chest. That's all it is.

I'm the most successful person in my generation of family members, and that sucks.

I grew up in the seventies and disco was big. That influenced me the most.