Young Kids Are Always Singing And Painting.

The People Are Not Coming Because Of Me. They Didn't Come Before Me. It's Because Of A Lack Of Education And Understanding, So It Makes Me More Motivated. It's Like My Mother Said About Having An Artistic Child - She Learned More From Him And He Gets More Attention And More Of The Love, Not Less.

For Black People, We're One Of The Only Groups Of People That For Some Reason To Express Love Of Yourself, In Some Ways, Is Misconstrued As A Dislike For Someone Else.

I Think That Virtuosity Is The First Sign Of Morality In A Musician. It Means You're Serious Enough To Practice.

I Believed In Studying Just Because I Knew Education Was A Privilege. It Was The Discipline Of Study, To Get Into The Habit Of Doing Something That You Don't Want To Do.

When I Came To New York, To Brooklyn, I Met Alvin Ailey And Stanley Crouch And August Wilson. They Were Always Putting Things In A Philosophical Context. All The Great Jazz Musicians Did, Too. There Was Always A Sub-context To What They Were Saying About Music Even Though They Would Be Very Down Home And Earthy. So I Started To Develop, In Addition To My Power And Ability To Simply Hear, A Way To Place Myself In A Time.