“We’re products of this world we were born into. We all battle our own demons. Everyone is troubled in the dark, but, please just stop & think about the babies. They’re gonna be here long after we leave.”

I could always sing just playing around, but I ain’t want to be no singer. I thought that was lame.

As cliche as it sounds, don’t stop. I feel like so often people will have talent or have potential, and they’ll quit because they don’t get anywhere as soon as they want to.

I think if you’re an interesting person, you don’t have to cloud yourself in mystery for people to want to know more about you.

If you’re my woman, you’re somebody I give emotions to that I don’t give to nobody else. You’re my safe space. I don’t want my safe space to be compromised.

I probably talk to myself more than I talk to anyone.

If I’m being honest, I was messing up on every other level in my life growing up – whether it was in school or in my jobs. I was always distracted by my love for music.

I think it was ‘The Diary of Alicia Keys’. That was the first time album I ever bought with my own money. I had a little Discman.

In 2018, nothing is sacred. Everyone is everywhere and knows everybody. I don’t text too personal because somebody might screenshot it and share it.

I want to put my soul into the music and still be who I am when it comes to an actual conversation.

The first couple of times I went out and heard my voice or heard people listening when I wasn’t the one playing it for them, it felt good.

If I have a collection of songs for an EP or mixtape, I create the narrative afterwards; but usually with an album, I have a concept and the name first.

I got a dog and am trying to elevate. I’m working out, eating healthier, reading books. Making ‘Make it Out Alive’ is going to be a reflection of all of that.

I’d prefer for people to know that they’re going to get some substance when they listen to my music versus hearing the same ‘Oooh baby, I love you.’

People will listen to a song and expect that you just have that persona on all the time. But really, that was your one outlet that one day to get that emotion out. The only difference was you put it on a canvas that’s going to be there forever.

I recorded everywhere. I would go to different cities and do a session there for the project. I did sessions in New York and I did sessions in L.A. It was just kind of wherever I was and I felt like cutting a track.

Rapping was kind of hard. It’s so many words. When you sing you can kind of stretch the words out. I didn’t have to write as much as everybody else.

Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.

The wounds received in battle bestow honor, they do not take it away.

You want your sunshine? Battle the storm ahead.

Actually, your past successes are your biggest obstacle: every battle, every war, is different, and you cannot assume that what worked before will work today.

When we let go of our battles and open our hearts to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice.

Getting healthy isn’t just about losing weight. It’s not limited to adjusting our diet and hoping for good physical results. It’s about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change – spiritually, physically, and mentally. And the battle really is in all three areas.

The toughest battle is fighting with the one you are fighting for.

In Latin America the border between soccer and politics is vague. There is a long list of governments that have fallen or been overthrown after the defeat of the national team.