On the brilliance of James Brown's dancing − and the frustrations of bad camera-work on dancers:cers: I think James Brown is a genius you know when he's with the Famous Flames, unbelievable. I used to watch him on television and I used to get angry at the camera-man because whenever he would really start to dance they would be on a close-up so I couldn't see his feet. I'd shout "Show him! Show him!", so I could watch and learn.

The greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work.

I love composing and writing music and dancing and performing and conceptualizing creatively for visual mediums. I love to create.

I think about our planet. I mean how to make it a better planet. The global warming issue is a concern to me very much. Just make the world a better, happier place. It's our home. I'd like to see us do a better job of taking care of it.

I want people to hear or watch something I've done and feel that I've given it everything I've got.

All the forms of popular music from jazz to hip-hop, to bebop, to soul [come from black innovation]. You talk about different dances from the catwalk, to the jitterbug, to the Charleston, to break dancing -\-\ all these are forms of black dancing...What would [life] be without a song, without a dance, and joy and laughter, and music.

And I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead.