I tried to make the best music that I could possibly make, and then nothing was ever good enough.

Music kept me sane. I love music too much. I'm too passionate about music to let anything or anyone come in between me and my love.

I think the time in between albums, as much as it was not anticipated, it was much-needed, and very helpful, very useful. I've done nothing but hone my craft, and get better, and learn, and gather information in the process. So I'm grateful for it in retrospect.

It is a different world, the underground. When you hit mainstream, you hit a saturation level and that turns some people off. When you are on more low-key stuff, it works to your advantage and it creates a buzz on the streets. At that point, the sky is the limit.

Certain majors [lables] just know what they're doin', and got a good grip on the dynamic of what's happening, and some don't.

Technology being the way it is, and record sales being the way it is, there are not too many things that you need to depend on a label for that you can't go out and do yourself.

It sometimes becomes difficult to tell when you're even creating a buzz. You know, everything in this game, it so relies on timing that that part is really important, and it's something that everyone tries to pay a lot of attention to.