“When I was about 15. I was just singing around, and people kept telling me I needed to try it. A friend got me to sing in front of Troy Taylor, and he took to me right there.”

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.

In my dressing room, you’ll definitely find some Starbursts and Skittles. I have a lot of candles that remind me of home, and a humidifier for my voice. I also have some digital Kodak albums where I have pictures of my friends and family.

A lot of people perceive women as sexy based on their outer appeal. But there’s no way to mistake if a woman is confident.

Singing wasn’t a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good.

I think clothes are very much a representation of your attitude and the way you feel. I really love to be dressed down, though.

Versace has always been a brand that I’ve loved, a brand that has supported me. I’ve been wearing Versace for so long, I come in here and I have friends here, and they really support what it is that I do. Our partnership has been great.

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’m a guy that appreciates spontaneity and a woman being genuine and different.

I like hair each and every way. I like to give scalp massages – to pull and tug on it. But my favorite style is long, real hair in a dusty blonde-brown color.

A ruler wishing to win should not trust a captured enemy even if he may be extending had to be friend. Because deep rooted enmity, however, concealed, will surely come to light.

No matter what you study, the thing that you know best is what you grew up with.

He who has wealth has friends.

He who has wealth has friends and relations; he alone survives and is respected as a man.

A true friend encourages us, comforts us, supports us like a big easy chair, offering us a safe refuge from the world.

Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable giving your two best friends a key to your house. If not, look for some new best friends.

He who runs away from a fearful calamity, a foreign invasion, a terrible famine, and the companionship of wicked men is safe.

Do not put your trust in a bad companion nor even trust an ordinary friend, for if he should get angry with you, he may bring all your secrets to light.