You've rarely got an artist that's not being chauffeured into the business by some huge-ass names.

His momma said, Donovan why are you, on the corner of linden and guy R. Brewer?

There are situations where I'm uncomfortable saying, "I'm a hip-hop artist." In some circles, the response is like, "Oh, OK, so... you have whores and your ties are shiny?"

When new artists come out and they're not being cosigned or some company doesn't have a stake in it, or someone's not getting paid under the table to produce the whole record or bring it to video, the artist really suffers.

The battle thing is very important in hip-hop, but at the same time, I want to sit down and have a beer and listen to Rakim.

I mostly write to music, even though I know I sound free-form a lot. Then there are times when I'll have a concept and hold on to it until I come across the right music that makes a marriage.

Having the savvy to know what you want to say, how you want to say it, and what music you want to say it over comes with time spent and wisdom gained in a music career.