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 would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president leaves, I'm leaving." That'd be the bottom line.

I could've never envisioned things goin' this way in a million years. But, I'm a firm believer in my higher power havin' a plan, and he's never wrong, and he's not open to suggestions. I'm sure that everything [has] happened for a reason.

Mixtapes are extremely important, especially for New York or North East artists. They allow you to be creative, to get feedback and criticism, but most of all, it gets your name out there. I would say about 90-100% of my success was down to the mixtapes.

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.

You don't need to be at a major, not at all. 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.