“Anyone who puts 110% into their work deserves as much success as they can get.”

And through doing that I realised that actually these stories were very visual in my head and I couldn’t wait to make the videos.

So, I really enjoyed doing the Strickland Banks album. But there’s no point in my trying to release underground hip-hop music on a major label. That part of my talent, or part of my art, had to live somewhere else and feature film was the perfect vehicle for it.

With hip-hop music, it allowed me to talk about political and social things but also to tell stories.

I love the way I make hip-hop and I refuse to make pop-rap. I don’t refuse to make mainstream music, which is why I did a soul record. There was no reason why soul music couldn’t get played on the radio and I still wanted to have a relationship with my record label.

I found very early on when I became a hip-hop artist that I loved telling stories. Actually, when I was trying to get a message across it was more powerful when I told a story, rather than if I used a metaphor or if I preached about an issue.

I was a soul singer first and I’d write love songs. I find with soul music it’s really hard to write about anything else. But I was 15 at the time when I was doing that and, to be honest, I’d never experienced love, so the words were kind of meaningless.

I didn’t make a film because I wanted a starring role. I made a film because I wanted to tell a story and I wanted to prove that I could direct.

The problem with working with a record label is they maybe a song I want to make a video for that they will refuse to make a video for because they don’t see that song as a single. And I found that very frustrating.

Savasana is being without was, being without will be. It is being without anyone who is.

I’m going to make a very bold statement: Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations.

If anyone asks me whether I like being a popular writer, I ask them whether they think I’d rather be an unpopular writer.

You make me happy, even when you’re awful. I would rather be with you – even the you that you seem to think is diminished – than with anyone else in the world.

Mama always taught her children that words were pretty, but anyone can talk. She said, pay attention to that man or woman who acted, who did, who performed. She taught us to trust in thing we could see, not that we heard.

It`s always worth while before you do anything to consider whether it`s going to hurt another person more than is absolutely necessary.

If anyone asks you what kind of music you play, tell him ‘pop.’

If anyone can show me one example in the history of the world of a single spiritual person who has been able to show either empirically or logicall.