I first fell in love with music when I was a little boy. When I first heard music, I felt the beauty in it. Then, being able to tap along on a table top and box was great, but my favorite thing to do was to watch records spin. I would almost get hypnotized by it. These things are what drew me in initially.

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.

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.

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

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

What Whitney Houston has accomplished will never be accomplished. She's the most famous person on the planet as far as vocaling and her songs. So I'm very happy that I can sit here and say I had a chance to know her. And I'm still dazed that she's gone. But she lives because her music is so powerful.

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.