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."

As a young black boy, it made me proud to see black leaders that did something amazing and made the world change.

Kind of the critical acclaim of this movie [La La Land] is that it's striking a chord with the public in a way that has been really beautiful and powerful.

I'm not going to run for office. I don't think that's the right move for me.

The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire.

Music wasn't forced on me [in my childhood]. It was something I wanted to do. And ever since, I've never stopped, I've never stopped playing music.

I respect people who are willing to deal with everything that comes with being a politician, but I'm not willing to deal with half the country rooting for you to fail. I'm a singer; I deal with enough. But at least half the country's not trying to destroy me.