There's a difference between making the music for a check vs. what you think you should be doing artistically and creatively.

I have songs - even from my first album, I've always been on some socially conscience/love whatever music, you know?

I believe in highlighting the 'greatness' that I see in every single woman that I come across. There is such beauty in variety. It may not always be evident, when you look at a woman, where her greatness lies. But the truth is that the greatness of women is reflected in the very essence of who we are.

In every video that I have done, I have tried to have lead actresses of different variations from size and color to nationality.

When it comes to beauty, women are nothing short of amazing. They come in variations of shapes, colors, and sizes. Each part of their character and personality adds an element to their beauty.

Being an entertainer, my path to inner peace is engulfed in the music that I create. While it is therapeutic for those who hear it, it is equally therapeutic for me to create.

Relationships are amazing parts of our lives, but they are not always easy. They become even harder when we allow others to interfere in them with their questions and opinions.

Truth be told, in determining what you want and who you want to be with, you will be compromising in certain areas. It can be in the area of appearance or occupation or maybe even certain personality characteristics, but no one person can have everything.

Settling is not necessarily a bad thing. People tend to take it as 'losing something in order to gain something else.' That does not have to be the case. Instead of using the word 'settling,' we should actually be using the word 'compromising.'

The strength it takes to love, mold, and nurture a child should be honored every single day.

To be a mother is a beautiful thing, but to be able to assume the role for a child in need is nothing less than amazing. I believe that any woman who takes on the role of a mother, whether it be naturally or through foster care or adoption, should be held in the highest regard.

Coming from a single parent household, I witnessed firsthand the strength and courage of the single mother. I always had my father in my life but my household was run by my mother and my grandmother. As a result, I have always had the utmost respect for women and have chosen to strongly convey that in my music.

There is no single individual greater than a mother. They are the great keepers of our society and heads of our households.

Every so often, you have a producer or a songwriter or both or a team that comes along and really reshapes and redefines sonically what music is and the interpretation of it to the masses.

I've always been known for making socially conscious music in the midst of the love songs and the bedroom songs.

When you talk about the exchange of energy between performer and audience and audience and performer, I hope that I'm one of the best.

A lot of beautiful women that I have come across are the most insecure.

I love women - all types, all colors, petite, plus size. But in particular, I was raised by black women, and I feel like there is just something beautiful about black women.

I make grown-folks music, and I'm cool with that. I accept that. I try to be witty while also delivering a message.

If there's no fire, there's no scream. If there's no scream, then no one hears you and no one comes to help you in the first place. The depth of my struggle has definitely determined the height of my success. To be able to teach my kids not just about success but about the struggle that comes with it.

I said that when I establish myself as an artist that can do pretty much anything I want to do in music, I'm going to make a country album.

I look at my music in the beginning, and the sexual songs, the partying songs, those are the realities because those things happen.

To make an album like 'Love Letter,' everything's got to be about love. Everything has to have a great feeling when you listen to it.

I don't want fans mad at me, so I gotta give them what they expect and what they want.