People are a lot smarter than anyone gives them credit for being.

A lot of times you're just conditioned by what's around you.

So that when I came from Panama... my family was exiled in 1973 and they went to Miami.

So that I saw music as a way of documenting realities from the urban cities of Latin America.

What I do not accept is the fact that so many people's talents were ripped off.

But, when I was about thirteen, I began to sort of sing in my neighborhood.

And music was a very important part of our lives. The radio was on all day.