In the quest for fortune and fame...don't forget about the simple things.

I decided that instead of apologizing for having a lot to say, I wanted to create a format where people would come to hear me sing and speak.

I was born in love with music. My mother is a singer, many of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side are musical, my grandparents sang and played blues piano. It's literally in my blood. My mother wrote an original song to teach me the days of the week.

If he ever left me, I wouldn't even be sad; no, 'cause there's a blessing in every lesson, and I'm glad that I knew him at all.

Either you're a hater or a lover.

I'm passionate about the empowerment and healing of girls and women. Where I do the most work in that regard is in my songwriting.

The songs that I've written about Africa, and AIDS and HIV and about the power of humanitarian love, those songs, I'm gonna sing them because I know that it's real.