I think hip-hop is actually one of the most challenging things that's happened in music in a long time. The people who are in charge of what people see or hear are afraid. What you hear on top 40 or what you see on BET or MTV is not a fair representation of what is really going on...

I got my first exposure to Islam when I was 13.

You can positively affect and change a social circumstance with art, and it’s vital that a change happens now.

I've always loved music and I love the language, which is a huge reason why I'm part of theater.

African art is functional, it serves a purpose. It's not a dormant. It's not a means to collect the largest cheering section. It should be healing, a source a joy. Spreading positive vibrations.

If 'Life in Marvelous Times' can't get on the radio, then I don't need to be on the radio.

What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends. The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical.