Why wouldn't I help? What good reason do I have as a human being with power and a sense of empathy and morality, why wouldn't I do something?

If you want the film [La La Land ] to represent all things jazz, it does not. You'll be disappointed by that. But, if you just see it as one guy's point of view, one filmmaker's point of view, and one story among many stories that can be told about jazz, then it's not as much of an issue.

I spent a lot of time, a lot of energy trying to be a better artist and I still [do]. I spend a lot of time focusing on my craft. If you're going to take your passion into something beyond just something for fun on the side, you got to spend a lot of time on it to be great, and then you've got to make smart decisions about who you collaborate with [and] where you live [to] put yourself in the right situations to meet the right people to catch those breaks.

We should care about what is going on in the world.

People tell me all the time that my songs help them express things to loved ones that they may not be able to say themselves.

I would tell myself, "Love yourself and don't be afraid to take risks." I was often afraid to take risks, socially, because I was young and a little more shy and still figuring out who I wanted to be. Sometimes I look back and think, "I should have just been bolder and more confident."

Hip-hop and R&B are especially fertile bases of collaboration. It always makes good records and good music.