I basically camped out for a year and a half in an Airstream trailer on the beach out in front of the studio. I had no idea what I was gonna do, what kind of album I was gonna make - all I knew was that I wanted to sit there and just take in whatever came.

Race in this country is still the elephant in the room that no one wants to discuss.

Change is growth. For me it has been a very spiritual and musical rebirth.

I don't like to approach people that much. There's been times when I wanted to say something to somebody, in a quick moment, but didn't. Then you think, man, who knows?

I found it a really refreshing change of pace to suddenly be completely directed. It was a type of collaboration that I don't normally have.

I just feel so good; it feels like a very creative time for me. As far as my mind, spirit, and body, I've never felt better.

When I'm in the studio, I write the music, I play the different instruments, I produce it, I arrange it, and it's a self-indulgent exercise. It's the way I make my music. And when I'm acting, I get to leave myself behind, which is a relief. I get to collaborate with a director; I respect the director's medium and all the actors and actresses. So at the end of the day, it's about a character and it's about a director's vision. It's a really good balance for being so intense and alone in my personal process of making music.