Man, I would demand that artist come to the table with better variety. I would demand that musicians know music history, not just Hip-Hop, so that we could understand. The better your 'listening ear' is, the better your music will be.

You feel pressured to do what you think the public wants, when in actuality the sales aren't reflecting what the radio is doing. Not in the least bit!

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.

I'm doing what's in my heart at the time.

There's a need for pop. There's a need for radio. There's also a need to understand the brilliance and the depth of jazz and soul - and what hip-hop can be at its most brilliant and what hip-hop can be at its most simplistic.

Radio makes it appear like you can get some sounds in a laptop and be the next dude. Those careers don't really last.

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.