First, you have stereotypes, and that will be the black drug dealer, the east Asian kung fu master, the Middle Eastern terrorist in 'True Lies.' Then you have stuff that takes place on culturally specific terrain, that engages with it, but actually subverts assumptions. 'Smashes' stereotypes. That's where I've come into the game.

I go to a lot of stand-up comedy. I find more inspiration from observational stuff than from rap.

I think that in an Internet age, content is content. As long as you can stand up on the merits of what you're doing right at that moment and aren't just relying on your success in doing something else, it's all good; people will respect you.

It's crazy how we always hate the things closest to us.

I'm working it out, man. I'm working through some stuff, trying to find my way like everyone.

The music I make and the process of acting, for me, are both about trying to understand people and get inside what makes us tick. That's the main thing that excites me. Our sense of who we really are and what drives us.

The racism in South Asia is the most specific racism in the world. It's like racism against a slightly different language group. It's like micro-racism.