I'm inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion of mine. I enjoy it. I'm good at it.

I don't care about what brand you are, I'm concerned what type of man you are, what your principles and standards are.

It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people.

I don't wanna get into that space where a lot of guys now, their solo album is like eight or 10 songs with other people, you don't get an idea of who this guy is. I just wasn't interested in that.

The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis. Shinin', like "Who on top of this?

I'm an independent thinker. And I'm not the poster child for any movement. I'm trying to support whatever's right no matter where it is.

I dreamt that I could paint you with words, but there were no colors bright enough, black or white enough, blue or green enough...they didn't mean enough