“I take pride in working very hard. You need to understand that hard work doesn’t instantly pay off. My career grew gradually and taught me a lesson every step of the way.”

I don’t really do glasses. It’s a good look, but I’m not big on wearing clear glasses for fashion. And I don’t wear too many shades because my fans love to see my eyes.

The people who support me and my dreams make me feel like I’m on top of the world.

I love music, so if I wasn’t singing, I would probably still be working in the music industry. I love songwriting, so I’d probably be a songwriter.

As blacks, all we got is sports and entertainment. That’s the only way out the hood sometimes.

I wish I never fell so deep in love with you and now it ain’t no way we can be friends.

I don’t think music can be held. I don’t think artists can be put into boxes or places. It’s all about creating and making the best music you can.

I think everybody gets lonely sometimes. I don’t know if people can ever understand how you can be in a room full of people and be lonely sometimes.

Change is a natural form of progression.

From the music I make, to the things I do in my life, I’m true to my R&B core.

I love Calvin Klein underwear. That’s the only kind of underwear I wear.

Petersburg, growing up at home, all by my family and friends, Petersburg really, city-raised me, you know everybody there.

I’ve never really been settled. I don’t think I’ve ever known what it was like to be a person that was used to sitting still. I think it’s given me the ability to detach from any situation.

It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t get a little nasty.

The first tattoo I got was when I was 17, and it’s a cross on my bicep with ‘Only God Can Judge Me’ underneath.

Style is a display of character. It’s also a great way to express yourself and the ladies like it.

I think ‘selfies’ are fun and expressive, as long as you don’t get carried away with it.

Actually I’m writing as best I can, in order to keep the momentum and the career there, but I want to live.

The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.

One has to be fully committed to one’s career. Otherwise, there’s no point.

It’s much harder to act in a bad film than in a good one. A terrible script makes for very difficult acting. You can win an Academy Award for some of the easiest acting in your career, made possible by a brilliant script.

In my career, whether it’s a big or a small movie, when I’ve worked on something for a long time, like [Ivan] Drago in Rocky IV, they start to take on a life of their own.

I got a divorce, and I felt like I finally started my career. I started making movies and projects that I just really believed in.

I think I’m even more open and more giving as a father now. I pay more attention now because I value it more and I’m less caught up with my career.

A job is not a career. I think I started out with a job. It turned into a career and changed my life.