Nikki Giovanni! I got a book of hers from the library, and there was this woman who could paint me on paper with words - my whole little experience. I thought it was wonderful.

Nikki Giovanni! I got a book of hers from the library, and there was this woman who could paint me on paper with words - my whole little experience. I thought it was wonderful.

I believe the relationship you have with your government is not so different to a love relationship.

Music shouldn't be a chore or feel like any kind of burden.

I am a huge Prince fan. It's a very rare thing for him to have people open for him. It's been the Time and Sheila E., and that's about it. Building a relationship with him has been like a dream come true. I've been looking for a mentor, and I feel like I have that in him.

Being on set is a hard thing. A lot of people are like, oh, you get to make a movie, and it's all fun. But the reality is, it's a lot of hours. It's a lot of reshoots; it's a lot of waiting. And you can become increasingly agitated by the amount of time that you are waiting. But that's real.

I'm looking for someone who works as hard as I do. Who loves their work as much as I do, so at the end of the night we have something real to talk about, something exciting that makes our blood flow and boil.