The way I grew up, I was always taught that it's uncouth to talk about money, and that's not what should inspire you.

I sang in church growing up. Memphis is the blues capital of the world, we like to say.

All you can do as an artist is do what you think is an extension of you. You put down on paper ... who you are. That's what being an artist is all about. And when it gets done, you don't look back at it and say, Oh, I could have done that better.

The way I grew up, I was always taught that it's uncouth to talk about money, and that's not what should inspire you.

Nobody dressed like my dad. When he worked at the bank, he looked like Richard Gere in Gigolo. And he would do it all the night before, laying out the suit he'd wear the next day. Even on weekends, if he had to go into the office, he'd wear a trouser pant with a V-neck sweater and tie. And I was like, I want to dress like that! He was just so cool.

...We're people and we're different, all of us. And we should be using our differences to bring ourselves closer together. You know? Not be afraid of something that we don't know. ... It's unfortunate that things take a while to progress like this, but it was a great, great victory for equality. I'm proud New York has the balls to stand up for what's right.

The gray area, the place between black and white - that's the place where life happens.