Our parents were really, really grounded people but also really ambitious people, meaning they saw our ambition and were willing to help us chase it.

A lot of potential scenarios create challenges. It's all about how you grew up, values instilled in you.

Don't misunderstand good manners for passivity.

Everybody feels up sometimes, they feel down sometimes, sometimes they feel sideways, sometimes they feel weird. And the beauty of music is you can express all those different feelings in all the different songs you write. And hopefully, people can identify with those.

Eventually, the bad boy image affects fans' willingness to show up.

Everybody has their ups and downs, and that's what makes you tougher.

Everybody has their demons; everyone has their challenges.

I want my music to be a contribution, and I want the people who love me on Earth and in Heaven to be proud of who I am, and I want to be proud of myself, and I don't want to look back and say, 'Oh God, why did I say that?'

It's cool to hear my songs on the radio. But for me, that's just a way to get more people to have the option of choosing my music.

This celebrity culture that hypnotizes people into thinking a person is literally not real because you see them on television is a spell the watcher him- or herself must break.

Basically, I listen to voices. If they write good songs and they can sing, I'll probably like it.

I always have something by Stevie Wonder in my CD player.

I hope that the things that I sing about will be an inspiration for people to be original.

When I was growing up, I only saw really brown people on 'The Cosby Show,' and they were rich, and their parents were doctors. It wasn't like my home.

Nobody looked like me when I was growing up. None of the kids were as big as me, or as serious as me, or listened to the same music.

I've spent my entire life trying to figure out why I was different than everybody else. Why is my voice so deep? Why am I so muscular?

I know the things I say go out of my own mouth and into my own ears.

I don't want the world to get any worse. I want to make it better.

I made a conscious decision when I was recording 'Acoustic Soul' to - and this is one of my mantras - follow the music and let the chips fall where they may.

The thought crossed my mind about not wanting to alienate my fan base, but I don't know what would alienate them or bring them in, so I decided not to think about it.

Now that I have better producer chops, a country album is something I want to do one day. I don't know who's going to put it out. But when I do, I don't think people will call it 'country music.' They'll probably call it 'neo-soul.'

It took me almost wanting to retire to realize that you need to ask for what you need. Everybody needs something different, but whatever it is you need, you need to ask for it and figure out how to get it.

I'm in show business, and I'm an entertainer, but I also see myself as an artist doing social and spiritual work.

Could a person really make a social contribution through music consciously? I mean, beyond making a person happy to hear the song and more making a social contribution consciously through your music? For me, Stevie Wonder is the paragon of that. And I didn't want to be Stevie Wonder, but I did want to do what he does.