I now possess the tools as a producer and a songwriter to really just go out and make smashes all day long. I could make an album full of smash records that got pop appeal. But my heart is in hip-hop. My heart is in telling stories. And it's like therapy for me.

I met Will Smith twice. I didn't talk to him for too long but I was trying to let him know that my age group grew up watching him - he was the coolest guy on television and the coolest guy in movies.

When composing music, I just start spilling things out and then wait until they take form, you know what I mean, until I see like a common thread or something.

Keep grindin' boy, your life can change in one year, And even when it's dark out, the sun is shining somewhere

A lot of my music is just self-observation. Like telling you, "Oh man. What did I just do? How much did I just pay for this chain? Why did I do that? Wait a minute." Let me talk about that. Or like, the temptation. Let me talk about that. Let me observe myself.

Anything I do, I want to do it well.

The thing about being an artist today is you get to develop right in front of people's eyes before you even put out an album.