Are things getting better with each generation? Yes. It's quite interesting to be living in these times, for me to witness an African-American being elected president. It's quite extraordinary.

I don't go to church so much, the way my life is, but it's in me every day.

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

I never sit down to write or say, "Today, I have to record something." I wait to hear it and then I go for it.

I get a lot of joy from playing instruments, and I have a different personality on each instrument. I like to let that come out. I get kind of selfish.

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 do my best to try to keep God with me on a personal level. It's my belief that God really wants a personal relationship with us.