It wasn't like I was specifically wanting to write songs about technology. It's just what I lived, what I was experiencing growing up.

It's crazy that people are looking to me as a symbol like, 'Oh, he's the voice of the youth. He's this and this and that.' I feel like there's a lot of pressure that comes with it, when people look to you as the face of something.

It's my job to accept my youth, to spread my story, to let people know who I am as an individual, because there's so many people who are blinded and think less of me because of my skin color.

We were told not to turn our hobby into our job, but to turn our job into our hobby. As kids, we were told not to pursue our dreams!

I went through a few phases of finding myself: I dabbled in musical theater, chess club, dance troupe, splatter-painting, school mascot (go Wildcats), babysitter, photojournalist, drill team girl, emo kid - and not one of them defined me, but every single one will always play a part in who I am.

I just have a relationship with my imagination. It's like my friend, almost.

When I'm writing, I'm thinking about how the songs are going to play live. Fifty bars of rap don't translate onstage. No matter how potent the music, you lose the crowd. They want a hook; they want to sing your stuff back to you.

Now, one can often get away with playing music by ear when it is not being recorded, but writing is another matter; its mistakes are not forgotten because they are still there to confuse us.