“I’m one of the artists that even though I love my soulful stuff, I love to turn up and have a good time and that’s another side of me.”

It’s a competitive city, it’s full of just great artists and talent. It gave me the confidence, the passion, the realness I try my hardest to portray, so it has had about 90% influence on me.

I don’t like to veer away from the truth because I think that’s what people have fallen in love with about my music.

He is fearless and the way he comes to the music is like we share the same passion for what we do and with somebody from the West. In my opinion that would be a great collaboration.

I think that I work hard to make my music as a diary for new generations who find out about it years later.

As long as it doesn’t veer away from who I am, I’m down with it.

They can go through the history and see a trail.

I feel that’s why people can connect so well with it because it’s all honest.

I can’t be passionate about something that I don’t understand. In my music.

My music is very raw, it’s emotional, and it’s honest.

Love and heartbreak is something that’s always been a part of me.

But at the same time, there’s still a classy side to me that I’ve seen in Oakland as well.

I like to just take all of them and allow them to help me build.

When you have somebody who takes their craft seriously, you don’t have to babysit them and be there all the time.

The influence that Oakland has on my sound is about 90%.

No matter is going on, I have something for that time or era.

I am so weak over love and heartbreak.

Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.

It is the continual, unconscious replacement, however fleeting, of oneself by another; the real cement of human life; the everlasting refreshment and renewal.

There are worse things than a lie… I have found… that it may be well to choose one sin in order that another may be shunned.

There’s another advantage to being poor – a doctor will cure you faster.

Then another porpoise broke the water and rolled toward us. A third and fourth porpoise neared. The visitation was something so rare and perfect that we knew by instinct not to speak-and then as quickly as they had come, the porpoises moved away from us…

Right to privacy is really important. You pull that brick out and another and pretty soon the house falls.

You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.

As long as the marks are related to one another, there is unity. Unity in the work itself depends on unity of the artist’s vision.