I think [director] Malcolm Lee is a real master at being able to make you laugh while bringing serious subject-matter, so the movie doesn't hinge on silliness, but on real life.

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

I still want to put together bigger and better programs to work with the community. I still think I could do better on that end.

If you really think back to the culture or just black America before rap music took off, New York could have been Paris.

I don't consider myself ever joining. But I have affiliations, for sure.

I really appreciate family. I really can't imagine life without them!

The moral is that a career can be gone in an instant. And all you have in this world are the people you love.