In the end, the overriding factor in whether or not you realize your dreams is going to be you. Not the world. YOU.

You know, I love all kinds of activism. I certainly think blacks deserve to have something whether it is affirmative action or an opportunity that should be opened up to them. But at the same time I believe that people of color are not the only poor people in America and all over the world.

It's all about the work. Nothing is going to fall into your lap.

When you sit quietly and look inside, things that seem so difficult on the outside become a lot easier to digest. Concerns that might've caused a lot of anxiety just come and go.

I want to promote poetry to the point where you got all the baldhead kids running around doing poetry, getting the music out of the way and having only words, the spoken word, and then see what happens.

If it feels like your life has become a nasty, brackish puddle of water, never forget that you do possess the power to transform it into a beautiful, rushing stream that will carry you to enlightenment.

I kind of think that artists throughout history, poets throughout history have been criticized for sharing what's on people's minds and I don't think it's any different now.