Act smarter than you are and always know where your exit is in case you get into too much trouble.

I use the music to vent, and a lot of the stuff that I am writing about or was writing about contained a lot of anger and anxiety, stress and depression, so that's how the album came out so dark.

I turned a lot of people in white America - and not just white America, but middle-class America - into hip-hoppers, you know?

A lot of people think I was an overnight success, but I was an opening act for three or four years, and then I signed my contract with EMI. Then it kind of blew up overnight.

Be yourself and enjoy yourself. Show me a smile and I'll show you one back. Karma: Believe in it. It's real. It comes back to you.

I like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Common. But I like the underground stuff like Young Jeezy, Black Rob and Shine. I also love heavy metal like Slipknot and Pantera, It's very intense stuff.

I do a lot of TV stuff, but I also turn a lot down - it's got to be an adventure.