I'm trying to do something real different; I'm trying to bring the street to real pop. I'm trying to bring the street to pop. Not watering it down, no nothing.

I've always tried different stuff in the studio. I use rakes, spoons, cans... I'm a surround-sound type of guy.

Everyone wants to work with the big new producer or the hot new singer. The key is to find them before they're hot.

I listen to a lot of alternative types of music: I listen to a lot of Chinese music, I listen to a lot of Asian music. It might surprise you, but I listen to a lot of Arabic music. And I don't care - music is music.

Good production is like a beautiful marriage. It makes a happy home.

I wanna be selective... very selective. Right now, hip-hop's very boring to me. It's no excitement.

I try to be as normal as I can.