When a lot of people are calling it a night at 2 A.M., New Orleans is coming alive.

To me, Def Jam put my career on hold. I was used to making 13-14 songs a year, and they trickled that down to nothing.

There's been enough building of fences with labels trying to categorize artists, limiting artists' ability to be themselves.

I've always had good connections with cars and always knew how to fix them, so I didn't have trouble with breakdowns.

I'm very choosy when it comes to work. It's not like whatever comes my way, I will agree to do it. But if I'm getting good money and exposure and if the content is satisfying, what's the harm in doing it, even if it's yet another reality show?

One of the big problems we had during the financial crisis was the intermingling of banks and holding companies and complex securities.

Patriotism is best exemplified through auto-critique. When you're willing to stand up within the group and say, 'It is wrong for Black people to be anti-Semitic,' or 'It is wrong for America to discriminate against persons of African descent and made them slaves and based its wealth upon free labor,' it's crucial to say that.

There's a fine line between artist and product. I don't think the industry purposely does it, but I think that's just the way they maneuver. You have to be careful that doesn't become your story, where you become a product, and your art is tarnished because you're just seen as a tool to make money.