“Okay, well, if motion is the constant, how can I remain in motion?”

My family life and early political life – being exposed to the news constantly, being enrolled in an Afrocentric education program, and doing the extracurriculars I did – played a huge role in me finding my path.

I am not a yogi yet, but I aspire to have more balance in my life.

2010 Foursquare Mayor Of The Year

Remember something about attention. Yes, it’s possible to buy, grab, or even steal it. But it’s far better to earn it.

There’s certainly a lot of noise in the hip-hop world now [that] I don’t pay active attention to, but to the extent that I represent some flavor of what’s happening in hip-hop – it’s subconscious.

By the time I got to Harvard, I feel like I knew who I was, and my job there was to throw as much against the wall as possible, to see what would stick.

I don’t know that I’m post-anything. I’d like to think maybe I’m post-bullshit.

You can call me namastunde or surfatunde. Either works.

Mostly I try to be the best example of me that I can be.

As far as hip-hop is concerned, I’m no expert and rarely think consciously about how I “represent” hip-hop.

I care about the diversity of the mindset of the people creating our future, and the windows through which we see it, and the tools we use to build it.

I work in comedy, journalism, media, and technology, many of which don’t have a lot of black faces in visible positions. I walk through Brooklyn with a surfboard. It’s fun to challenge and expand people’s expectations.

There are so many ways to be and to be black at the same time, but we’re finally seeing that full range expressed much more widely than before.

As I’ve submerged myself in news of the revolutions sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, I wanted desperately to feel part of what was going on. And then it hit me: This is what white people were doing to me after Obama was elected!

New York has been the best gift, in that the city pushes me to so many next levels.

Knowing that “me” is inextricably linked to blackness, [I try to enjoy] the process of expanding beyond the expected boundaries set by existing culture, norms and media.

And when they don’t get what they want, say, “Okay, sweetheart, yours is coming. Let’s help you get it.” Be there 100% for them.

It’s like NIKE okay you just do it.

That’s OK. The project may be the lion, but the list is your whip.

Sometimes when I’m directing, the stage manager will have a good idea and that’s okay with me.

“Okay, that’s kind of conceivable.” If you’re talking about the dude from Man V. Food is doing pairings for fine wine, then I think people might not necessarily anticipate that.

Okay? That’s despicable. Right? That’s not what we’re talking about here. Whatever does it for you, man.

I started tapping and I was okay. Then after about two years my feet knew what they were doing!

I always work on the songs all together up until the very end. I never mix a song and think, “Okay, now that one’s done.”