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White people couldn't do black music back in the day because they weren't funky or bad enough. They weren't from the ghettoes, but hip-hop and R&B changed all of that because white kids want to be down with it. They wanted to learn it so they studied the culture. It's kind of a cool thing because we shouldn't be so separate.

Historically, black music has influenced other cultures and other genres and created other genres.

That's because we did not set out to make black music. We set out to make quality music that everyone could enjoy and listen to.

Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop, gospel and R&B pretty well, and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three.

Hip-hop has globalized a conception of blackness that has had a political impact, whether or not it had a political intent.

If I were to call it black music, that would be untrue. I don't know what that is, unless it would be some African drums or something.

There was certainly, like, a rebellious, like, youthful rage in me. And there was also the fact of no getting away from fact that I am white, and you know, this is predominantly black music, you know.

Hip-hop is very diverse, but if you only focus on one aspect of it, then what you get is this image of Black America that is completely contrary to what actually goes on.

I grew up around hip-hop so I didn't think it was about being cool or being black or being white or whatever.