I have a tattoo on my foot that says 'it's a whale' in Japanese, because Japanese people kill whales. My stuffed whale was like most children's teddy bear. I took it with me everywhere. I slept with it. I couldn't live without my whale.

Once I've learned all those things and gotten through the hard times, I come out feeling really powerful.

The best songs for me come from the search for joy. You're in a negative place maybe, but you're still striving to improve yourself and find happiness.

Alex [Da Kid] does have diversity, not just in what he produces, but what he hears. He has this knack for finding talented people.

I would say that nobody is going to work harder for your career than yourself - the one with the vision. No matter how many people you hire, nobody is going to get is as much as yourself does. So it's really important to be your own leader at all times and not hand it all off, otherwise the whole empire will fall apart.

Since I started making music, it had always been for myself.

My mom always puts a grapefruit in my stocking. I like grapefruit, but why put it in a stocking like it's a gift? It's almost as bad as coal.