I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics.

I signal with an independent label, Continuum. After that I put out a totally independent record, sold fourteen thousand of them from my basement, bought a house, started raising my kid, made a decent living.

They believed you can't mix rock, country, and rap, and that crossover is dead. I always knew it would work. And it will always work as long as you're really into it and like what you're doing.

As far as my street cred goes, I'll always have that, because I always hang with the kids. I'll jump right off the stage and buy them a beer. I'll be a star on stage, but I'll always hang with the kids.

And there's a feeling you get from making music that is unlike anything else in the world.

I've always made music from the heart, and that's what I do. And at the end of the day, whether it works or not, I can say I tried my best.

But honestly, it's pretty weird; there are girls who'd do absolutely everything just to get a backstage pass. I don't know what it is, but really, when you're on national TV in America the girls love you. They all want you! And I'm not complaining!