I went to this boy's choir school when I was growing up, and I think that the first time that I consciously started making music was when this one kid joined our class. He was an amazing pianist and would come up with all these ideas. I've always had a really competitive side, so I saw him doing that, and was like, "I have to try writing songs as well."

A lot of the people I was writing with think a lot more about lyrics and a lot more about the details from the beginning. That kind of thinking made me a little self-conscious because I was suddenly having to judge what I was doing early on in the process.

What I love about African-African music is how unselfconscious it is in so many ways.

Sometimes, I even learn new techniques from my students. Although I am still a student at the Art Institute, I think that I have learnt a lot from the classes that I have already taken.

It's sad that some people still believe that artists die poor. This is not the case in this day and age.

From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.

When I'm writing, those ideas are seldom inspired by music itself. I won't often listen to an artist and come up with an idea.