A lot of people considered my career as an artist largely over. Two albums got shelved. But I've made music since I was a little kid, and for the majority of that time, I wasn't paid for it. So I will always be making it.

So I'm in the library, and I have keyboards out and my headphones out. Everybody's like, "Mike are you making beats right now?" and I'm like, "Yeah... sorry!"

Duke is in extremely competitive environment. In my high school, I think I got one B my whole four years. I was used to being the smartest kid in every class I was in, and then I went to Duke and suddenly I was the dumbest kid in every class. Everybody there is up to something.

My team and I live by 3 words: RELATE. LOVE. INSPIRE

I feel like people didn't understand where I was about to go. And a lot of people still don't.

Tons of people inspire my music, and now when I do an ­interview, I'm scared to say who they are. I'm scared to give gratitude to the people that, if I hadn't heard their stuff, I wouldn't be able to make music.

My smiles don't result from good things, they result in good things.