I think rap music is the sole reason for a lot of black acceptance in pop culture; because the music is very popular, it gets our image out in other ways than in movies.

America eats its youth like reptiles...Educat e yourself before they dumb you down.

I've always gotten good grades, you know, with my teachers and my English teachers, 'cause I was able to - they'd say, "What did you do for the summer?" I'm able to explain it to them in a written form. And my teachers always patted me on the back for that, being able to take what's in my mind and put it on paper.

I don't cook gumbo, but I just know it's a lot of good ingredients in it. And, with a movie, you got to have all those ingredients.

We have to step up as adults and try to guide our youth.

When I did 'Boyz N The Hood', I never thought how we grew up in South Central was interesting enough for a movie.

If you think about stuff that happened when you were young, it stays with you forever.