We have been underserved, underprivileged and unfortunate for far too long. There are no more excuses. It's not enough to have limited progress and allow our expectations and sense of purpose to evaporate. So, if that means we must sacrifice some nights at the club and give up buying the latest designer handbags and sneakers... well then damn, so be it.

As long as you focus on your strengths and remain natural, then you come off natural [in your work].

I'm not going to do red jeans. No green jeans. I don't do Vans and that's the style right now. I don't want to show my socks when I'm wearing jeans.

I think we need to find more reasons to unify rather than divide each other.

I'm not to the point where I need to shut myself off from people, unless I feel like I need to, but I don't force myself to deal with people.

I always want to execute and maximize off of potential, and this is a natural progression. Coming up as a youngster, I always wanted to be a rapper, but I knew that if I did everything right as a rapper, I'd end up as an actor, following the models of Ice Cube, Tupac [Shakur] and Will Smith.

It's so many different elements to a film. Just learning the ins and outs and how the machine works.