The last thing my father told me was: 'On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don't let me down.' A father telling his son that puts some responsibility on my shoulders. He told me that, and I take it very seriously.

There is always a way and always hope in the next sunrise, and in the next second, and in the next minute.

I want the people who listen to my music to feel the feeling that I feel, to cry the cry that I cry - justice. I want them to feel in their hearts the need for justice.

Things like lack of leadership and a lack of the willingness to evolve, they’re so used to keeping people within the constraints of the idea that has been the same idea for a thousand years.

I don't care what you play, where you're from, who you produce. It depends on what you're doing when you're with me. That's what counts. I don't pre-judge anything or anybody.

I don't think we should do anything that should make the people hate the American people more.

I've never read one book about my father.