I picked up the guitar at 11, but even before then, I was writing songs on the organ.

There's a power in words. There's a power in being able to explain and describe and articulate what you know and feel and believe about the world, and about yourself.

I found myself in the middle of a race riot when I was about 14 years old, and I found someone pointing a gun at me and telling me to run or they'd shoot me.

As a child I always had a sense of social conditions and political situations. I think it had to do with the fact that my mother was always discussing things with my sister and me - also because I read a lot.

I don't try to project any image at all, other than the person that I am.

Now love's the only thing that's free /We must take it where it's found /Pretty soon it may be costly

I'm never sure if I'll ever write another song, what the song will be about and if what initially sparked the beginning of a song might complete it.