I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.

I just want to make music as long as I can and reach as many people as I can.

I never have, but I would love to pick R. Kelly's brain.

My intentions with any of my music is to keep it futuristic and updated and be experimental and try new things.

Drums, bass, guitar, keys, I play a little of each of those.

I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J - I'm a hip-hop encyclopedia. But I got kind of frustrated with the chauvinistic side of rap music, the one that makes it hard to write songs about love and relationships.

I grew up in Ann Arbor, about 25 miles west of Detroit. And when you grow up in that area, you get a healthy dose of Motown automatically.