Life is a process where people mix and match, fall apart and come back together.

I am totally fascinated by people and our history as I understand and continue to explore it. People have so much to give and so far to go and yet we have given and gone a great distance. It's really just interesting to ask: why not? And see where that takes me.

I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.

If culture was a railroad, I can see the tracks running from the Spirituals to the Hip Hop Nation.

I am of the generation of segregation. Black Lives Matter is post. I said today, and I will say all the time, "If Nina [Simone] were here, she'd have her Black Lives Matter [T-shirt] on." I think they're great kids. They don't need me or anybody else to tell them what to do.

I'm an old storyteller. I tell the story. It's about the story.

I am honest; I try to be truthful. I like people and wish us well. We are not always deserving of our own best wishes.