If you talk about the prison-industrial complex, I've fought against the prison-industrial complex when I called for a repeal of the Rockefeller drug laws. The biggest impediment to get the laws changed was the lobbyists. Whether you're talking about healthcare, jobs going overseas, or tax reform, you're always coming up against lobbyists.

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.

Suffering will always be there. You'll always have the poor. You have to own your own progress. It is true that because of the economy and the fear factor the president [Barack Obama] is able to execute a lot of promises that it would be difficult to deliver it not for the fear factor. It's funny. He's delivering on what he promised and we call it fear.

I've been blessed to find people who are smarter than I am, and they help me to execute the vision I have.

Needing nothing really is the ultimate goal. And to have nothing to do with things.

86% of its audience was made up of people of color. That tells you that the full potential of many black stars won't be realized until their audiences are fully integrated.

I'm lucky that I have a platform that I can answer my own questions.