Everything that I make I use.

I was in Paris last year, where there's a great appreciation of many different aspects of African culture and of black culture. The music... the art... whatever... And I kind of went with that.

I feel like my best work is in front of me. I'm in the studio now, and I'm having an amazing time making this new album. It's something I can't help.

I'm half Jewish, I'm half black, I look in-between. I dress funny. I play all these different styles of music on one record. It's like, What is he doing?

I was an actor when I was a teenager and it could have been the direction that I headed in. But music and my relationship with music is quite deep, and it really is the nucleus of my creativity. So I gave up acting so I could pursue music fully, and I never thought about really going back. And then [director] Lee Daniels met me and wanted to work with me, and that's how it started.

I have a great time with my band and on the stage we get along well.

My dream is to become a farmer. Just a Bohemian guy pulling up his own sweet potatoes for dinner.