As a youngster in the projects, I definitely didn't have anything. So if you get something, you want to be able to give back and help others.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Material comes all kinds of ways, and it's never a question of a lack of material or a lack of projects - I have tons of projects. The issue is to convince someone to give you the money. And it's a very different business than it was just 8 years ago.
When I was growing up, I always knew that if I ever got anything, I was going to give back as much as I can. I learned that all you have to be willing to do is give your time.
When you decide you're going to join a project, it's all about the gift you're giving the audience.
If you want something you can have it, but you have to do some work. It's the ethic my mother brought me up with.
People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you.
When I was 16 or 17, when I started, I never even considered not doing a project. I just wanted to work.
What do you do with what you're given, and how do you transform it into something worthwhile?
I have begun several projects which were never completed, not necessarily because they failed, but because I got interested in other things.
I had ideas. A lot were good, but in many ways, I had no idea or experience about how to carry them out.
I grew up in Harlem Grant projects, and I didn't have a whole lot then. I've always been good about only getting what I need, not what I want. Just because someone else has something, I don't feel the need to.