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My father was a dark-skinned brother, but my mother was a very fair-skinned lady. From what I understand, she was Creole; we think her people originally came from New Orleans. She looked almost like a white woman, which meant she could pass - as folks used to say back then. Her hair was jet-black. She was slim and very attractive.

I obviously had my reggae, but I got quite into rockabilly when I was a kid, because I was trying to find something that represented me as a white person.

I've been very lucky to have played a variety of characters, and they weren't defined by their race.

I had to overcome the name Rock. If I'd been as hip then as I am now, I would have never consented to be named Rock.

Yancy is actually a Native-American name, but I'm Irish. Go figure.

Common folk didn't have last names in the 8th and 9th centuries.

We did a black 'Julius Caesar' in which the predominant accent was Caribbean. This offends many people, you know. I also had a Chinese Marc Anthony. I also managed - this caused a great shock - I also got some white guys in it as well!

I knew I didn't have the right name for a singer. Having a name that nobody could pronounce was hardly an asset.

I was named Stanley because the week before I was born, my mother and father saw a movie - 'Stanley and Livingstone.'