Never compromise and sell yourself short.

I definitely want my career to continue to branch out. I've had the pleasure of working in different areas of entertainment, from being in the music business as a teenager in a girl group to doing Broadway.

Remember to be yourself.

I work out and go to the gym, but I still enjoy my soul food and snacks. But I’m a pretty petite young woman, and I just do everything in moderation and make sure that I just keep everything together.

As a black actress you've got to work doubly hard. But it doesn't ever get me to the point where I give up on myself. It just motivates me to be more prepared, focus and disciplined. That's why I care so much about doing black films and making sure that we represent and are represented correctly.

I was excited to play Lil' Kim and I wanted to do the role justice. I worked really hard on that role, whether it was performing the rhymes, studying the dialect, her swagger and her stage performances. I wanted people to see my range and stretch my wings as an actress.

Singing is my passion and something that I still love to do and Im always going to want to do it.