I promised my mom that if, after a year of putting 150 percent into my career it didn't work out, I would go back to school. I never did go back.

While we [people] keep putting a face on HIV and AIDS, I think what we forget is that there are human beings, just people with emotions and feelings, women who want to be loved, men who want to be loved, who want to feel something.

The females don't respect themselves; they only think materialistically. They want money, but they don't think, I'm gonna get this money on my own, they think, I'm gonna get money from this guy.

I never pictured myself as just a rapper; I always wanted to act and do whatever else I could do. I always felt like I could do a lot of different things.

When I'm wearing too-high heels and swaying my hips, I do that Sharon Stone kind of thing - she has the sexiest walk, a New York cool thing that throws you back.

I don't have any regrets. If I could have talked to my 19- or 20-year-old self, I would have said, 'You're going to be fine. It ain't that serious!'

There was always music in our home. My mom and my dad loved music. I remember when we were kids we would have these great parties at the house with congas and bongos and African drums, and it was amazing. It wasn't until years later that I found out that they were actually Black Panther meetings.