I don't have beef with nobody... You know when it's beef, because then we just start playing scoreboard, and nobody wants to play scoreboard.

I never grew up on Jodeci. I never grew up on things like that 'cause my dad was a preacher, and he kind of kept us away from music like that.

I go through the same kind of situations as other people. I have to give that to people, because people have this facade, this mirage, this mirror about me.

The only thing is, with me - this may sound weird - there are a lot of R&B singers from that era that I actually don't know. Like, I never grew up on Boyz II Men.

I'm thankful for the position that I'm in, I'm thankful to go to the ceremony [of Grammys] the first time, thankful for everything. I'm just taking it step by step.

People who couldn't walk, they'd come in wheelchairs, and he'd make them walk. It's just the power of God. It wasn't my dad; it's what God had instructed my dad to do.

I'm not a hater, I'm not one of those people. I do think it's dope when people get recognized for whatever it is that they do, so more power to everybody who got nominated.

Swavey is the movement. Three words... It's Unique, it's true, and it's yourself. It's a very unique thing: it's true to yourself, and it's all about you just being yourself.

That's what made me a man, having to fend for myself and being in a situation where there is no dad, no grandma, and no mom to help you. It changed the person that I am today.

A lot of times, people won't be 100 percent real with their story, and I wanted to give people the drawn-out experience of the perseverance and the struggle that it took to get here.

I always try to show there's a way for the kids that feel like they're lowlives. In anything you want, you can be the greatest at it, even without school, if you want. Know your route.

I'm not like, overly anxious or nothing like that, because sometimes when you're overly anxious it kind of brings a weird energy around and I just like to just take things one day at a time.

I can look at you and say, 'I'm gonna be the biggest artist in the world' because, at the end of the day, it's about the trust I have in God. He's already shown me that I'm gonna fulfil my destiny.

The reason why I called it 'I Told You' is because I wanted to show people that I have been doubted, and I have been in the face of adversity. Coming out of that situation, this is my 'I told you' moment.

Everyone is friends with each other, and you have to like what's hot. You have to do all these things as if there's no real feelings. As if you can't dislike something any more. We all just have to be buddy-buddy.

Subconciously, the things you listen to and you believe in, those things are going to come out, you know what I mean? I think you take that and make it your sound; that's what I do when I'm putting together genres of music.

That's why, to this day, K.I.S.S. can sell out wherever they go... because they sell tickets, and they have that core fan base. You may not hear K.I.S.S. on the radio with a new single today. And they can still sell out anywhere.

For me personally, my favourite part of performing is just going in the crowd and doing crazy things that they never expected to see. Challenging myself to do new things that I never expected to do. That's the biggest thing for me.

I have a lot of money, but I still feel broke. When I say I feel broke, I don't mean broke in a financial sense, but I still feel like that kid from the gutter who's still trying to get it, even though I'm at the place I want to be.

Honestly, it's a blessing. Benny's [Blanco] probably one of the most talented people I know. He's just a very proactive guy when it comes to music and is just very creative. I think because of that, it makes it very easy to work with him.

Reggae goes in and out. It sounds so good, it feels so good and feels so tropical, but the problem is not everybody is Caribbean. Not everyone is going to sound authentic doing it, and sometimes it comes off cheesy when other people do it.

I started singing to this one John Legend record; it was called 'Each Day Gets Better,' or something like that. I started to realize, 'Wow, I really sound like this dude. If I keep doing this, maybe I can sound dope like John Legend and still rap.'

I'm a big Justin Bieber fan. I've been a Justin Bieber fan. I've been listening to his music. OG, you know. That's also my friend, too, so, you know. It's just one of those things. We've been supporting each other's music for a long, long, long time.

I love 50 Cent. I know it sounds weird 'cause a lot of kids might not say that right now, but I definitely want to work with 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Coldplay: I want to work with different artists that are going to push my music to a new level. Not just in urban music.

God put me on this earth to bring souls back to the Kingdom of God. You don't need to pray ten times a day - you just need hope. My music is going to stop war; it's the healing music. I see myself in Brazil, in Syria, in Darfur, and places where they really need hope.

I ended up moving downtown with these three dudes that I didn't really know. I came into the house, and I didn't realize how things worked. From, like, 15-18, I was just fighting them. I fought, like, every day, and these were, like, older dudes. It was every man for himself.

I don't develop anything. I don't practice, I don't rehearse. I just go out there, and it's just amazing and unpredictable and spontaneous every single time. It's the most cultivating incredible performance that you can go and see live for the amount of money that you can see it for.

I just freestyle. I don't actually write the words on paper. It's just whatever comes into my mind. I'll record three or four lines at a time, get a good take, and do three or four more. It may be whatever comes into my mind. But I care about my craft a lot more than a lot of other people.

I started rapping because my mom died when I was about 11 years old, and I was a very rebellious kid. I've been kicked out of every school I've ever been in since 6th grade on, expelled and dropped out in the 11th grade. Music was the only thing that I could really use to express myself, so I started rapping.

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