I always try to be a champion of social change and anything that brings awareness to a really dire situation.

I always try to be a champion of social change and anything that brings awareness to a really dire situation.

My dad's mission for me has always been to be a man they would write about, somebody that can be respected in the world.

I've always felt like my music would stand for itself and I would stand for myself. So I've kept my music a little bit esoteric, and I've kept the lyrics a little aloof. I try to say something important, but I don't necessarily preach.

I lived in lower-income neighborhoods in the inner city. Across the street were dark parts of the world. I've experienced the gamut, from third world to inner city to my parents working their way out of being secretaries and janitors to professors and real-estate people. They've shown me a path of perseverance and hard work in a peaceable way.

My dad almost died as a child from water-borne diseases in Ethiopia, and he had talked to me about digging a well in Ethiopia and I thought, I have too many friends and great people in my life that would be concerned with this subject of clean water.

It's a real misconception that water is a problem in Africa only. It's also an issue in Nepal, in Honduras, and in the United States of America. If we don't start paying attention now and curb our use and stop taking it for granted, we're going to be in a bad place, like everyone else.