Brandy is one of my favorite vocalists. Jay-Z is my favorite emcee outside of Biggie.

Brandy is one of my favorite vocalists. Jay-Z is my favorite emcee outside of Biggie.

I feel like all of my records have potential to be hits. Sometimes it's promotion, sometimes it's bad timing, but yeah I take it very personally. I'm very hard on myself when it comes to my records. I really believe that if it's not number one, I've failed.

I really want to work with Rufus Wainwright. Michael Stipe from R.E.M. I would love to work with Kanye West.

I listen to all types of different music. I go to different festivals. I'm around music.

I really was kind of like a musical nerd. I would watch VH1's 'Behind The Music.' That was heavy when I was a kid. I would sit up and want to watch that all day instead of going outside sometimes.

There's a bunch of people who sit around and make excuses for themselves and get upset with artists, but you already know what this is - it's an ego-driven business.