“I don’t cook gumbo, but I just know it’s a lot of good ingredients in it. And, with a movie, you got to have all those ingredients.”

I believe every pencil has to be sharpened every now and then to stay sharp, or you dull out. So my records, I chose to speak on what black people do, what white people do, what women do, what men do.

A bird in the hand is worth more than a Bush.

To me, in a perfect world, you have the flavor and the magic of movies like 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys.

You like a woman, she’s got kids, it’s a package. You can’t just go in one-sided.

Truth is the ultimate power. When the truth comes around, all the lies have to run and hide.

A lot of people have a misconception of what the ghetto is all about. You know, it’s only a small percentage of the people that are bad. Everybody else is good.

If you think about stuff that happened when you were young, it stays with you forever.

I’m not really into the political game as far as paying politicians and stuff like that, I’m not into that. You do your job, and I’ll do mine.

I love any time you can enlighten people to mistakes, that’s how I started my career.

The real is always presented. That hardcore record or movie is not needed in the hood, because it’s already there. You can see it with your own eyes.

I have a really beautiful life right now, so there is no reason to be hostile. I’m a husband, a father and a man who tries to do the right thing in life and in my work.

My advice for anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps: create your own path, hone your talent, be ready to show your talent, and don’t doubt yourself.

Creating is really what I like to do. The best thing in the world is to have an idea in the back of your head and then to make that idea into a movie and have people all over the world enjoy it.

I love music. It’s freedom, a way to deal with pent-up frustration.

Sometimes you got to start somewhere. And it’s cool, as long as where you start is not where you plan on finishing.

There’s nothing wrong with starting off in a box, but you got to have a plan to come out that box.

There can be no good fable with human beings in it. There can be no good fairy tale without them.

There can be no good fable with human beings in it. There can be no good fairy tale without them.

Every single day all the shitty shit that’s ever happened to you gets farther away and all the good shit that’s gonna happen to you gets closer.

Every single day all the shitty shit that’s ever happened to you gets farther away and all the good shit that’s gonna happen to you gets closer.

Power and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to live.

Power and machinery, money and goods, are useful only as they set us free to live.

On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.

On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.