The truth is that an intellectual life is available to almost anyone, almost anywhere, if they work hard enough and are given some kind of access point.

The hip-hop that I really connected with was Public Enemy, KRS-One, Ice Cube, and N.W.A. That late '80s and early '90s era. The beginning of gangster rap and the beginning of politically conscious rap. I had a very immature, adolescent feeling of, "Wow, I can really connect with these people through the stories they're telling in this music."

Hip-hop is mostly what I listen to, other than jazz. I've given up on pop music and indie rock.

Prajna is insight into the world. And a lot of that insight has to do with karma and the way karma affects our lives.

It's only when an American steps outside of their own culture that you see how integral it is.

I had observed people whose identity crises around race seemed analogous to other people's identity crises around gender.

The truth is that an intellectual life is available to almost anyone, almost anywhere, if they work hard enough and are given some kind of access point.