I believe as musicians and artists we have an obligation to our souls. What that is? Only each one of us knows. I can speak for myself and say my obligation is to be happy. When I’m happy, I make great music. When I’m unhappy and my heart is broken, I may make brokenhearted music, but it still sounds good.

I think it's artist's role to give and to receive and the people to give it, hear it, vibe on it, and give it back around again.

I take jobs with people I admire, people with incredible talent who aren't necessarily big sellers.

I'm known for being a good listener. Most people need a lot of love and encouragement and I'm more than willing to give a person all the encouragement and time they need.

There's nothing more exciting than playing live for the people. Just play it, just do it.

I'm very proud of my love for Whitney Houston. She really changed my life. She made my life a better life. She was so beautiful in her love for God, her love for her family and her love for music. She truly loved her music. She could do everything! She had flawless rhythm, flawless pitch, flawless feeling, and flawless beauty.

White people couldn't do black music back in the day because they weren't funky or bad enough. They weren't from the ghettoes, but hip-hop and R&B changed all of that because white kids want to be down with it. They wanted to learn it so they studied the culture. It's kind of a cool thing because we shouldn't be so separate.