When I was growing up, there were so many musicals you could watch. I like the fantasy of musicals and I love music.

I want to have and adopt. I always have; ever since I was 18, I wanted a baby, and I wanted to have and adopt because there are a lot of kids. I want to adopt an American baby though, you know what I mean, no offense. Just because there are so many kids here that need our help.

There's the part of my life that the public and I share together. And there's the part that's mine to keep for myself. And that's mine. For me.

I feel like I've set the example for loving your body no matter what size it is, but I also can set the example for being healthy as well.

I support many organizations that I feel are doing the right thing, like Alonzo Mourning's foundation, Alicia Keys' foundation, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and other well-established foundations. I kick out a lot of time and money wherever I can.

I'd say, if you want to be an artist, start with your art; start with making great music and it will, hopefully, eventually cut through all of the nonsense that is out there.

I would like - either as an actor, or producer or even director - to do something sci-fi or action-related. I like sci-fi, always have, 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' and all that stuff.

I totally want, like, 18 babies.

To wanna be me is to go through not just the good but the bad. You wanna share my story identically? Man, you gonna take some lumps.

I never pictured myself as just a rapper; I always wanted to act and do whatever else I could do. I always felt like I could do a lot of different things.

I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences... I'm human, not perfect, like anybody else.

Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self.

Every woman is a queen, and we all have different things to offer.

Fear can be good when you're walking past an alley at night or when you need to check the locks on your doors before you go to bed, but it's not good when you have a goal and you're fearful of obstacles. We often get trapped by our fears, but anyone who has had success has failed before.

I don't have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like looking out into my backyard and seeing deer in the fields.

Look at people for an example, but then make sure to do things your way. Surround yourself with positive people.

I've been giving back since I was a teen, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving and handing out toys at toys drives for Christmas. It's very important to give back as a youth. It's as simple as helping an old lady across the street or giving up your seat on the bus for someone who is pregnant.

You can't let fear paralyze you. The worse that can happen is you fail, but guess what: You get up and try again. Feel that pain, get over it, get up, dust yourself off and keep it moving.

I feel like every woman is a queen, and we should be treated as such, and we should, you know, sort of request that sort of treatment from others.

Dreams become reality when we put our minds to it.

There are times you can't really see or even feel how sweet life can be. Hopefully its mountains will be higher than its valleys are deep. I know things that are broken can be fixed. Take the punch if you have to, hit the canvas and then get up again. Life is worth it.

Beauty is not just a white girl. It's so many different flavors and shades.

I enjoy just being me. I don't need to be Queen Latifah, the brand, 24 hours a day.

Always follow your own path.

A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion. And I think guys find that to be the same way.

I love riding, even if it's just my Vespa. You just zip and do your thing. I find there's a different awareness when I ride; it connects me to my senses and to God.

Having Black hair is unique in that Black women change up styles a lot. You can walk down one street block in New York City and see 10 different hairstyles that Black women are wearing: straight curls, short cuts, braids - we really run the gamut.

I don't have to really be in the 60s. Every time I hail a cab in New York, and they pass me by and pick up the white person, then I get a dose of it. Or when they don't want to take you to Harlem. I grew up with that.

I like Pirate's Booty. Prunes and olives, too. I love hummus. I can eat that until I die. I tend to eat mostly organic food.

I do feel like I have a direct connection with God for some reason; always have since I was a little kid - I would talk to God, talk to the sky.

God is my homeboy. Jesus is my homeboy.

I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female.

I don't eat bad food. I probably just eat too much food, and I think a lot of people do.

I'm not allowed to get a big head, I've still got to do the simple things in life.

Bowling, I like bowling. I've been getting into this bowling thing. It's kinda fun.

Hip-hop definitely taught me a lot. Having to create your own identity and become known and respected in a male-dominated field - it requires some guts. There are times you have to be strong, and times when you have to stand alone for what you believe in.

There's no way I can represent for everyone. I can't represent for all women or all big women or all black women. It's important for people not to make celebrities their source of who they should be in life. I can't take on the pressure of being perfect. Nobody is.

I always loved all kinds of music. I would watch musicals a lot as a kid, on TV, watch the Fred Astaire movies. I'd watch 'The Wizard of Oz.' I was a big Jerry Lewis fan, and they'd have these big bands and someone singing - some siren, or some guy singing some gorgeous song. I was always enamored of that style of music.

To me, hip hop will never be right until female rappers have a stronger voice in it.

A lot of people are crazy, cruel and negative. They got a little too much time on their hands to discuss everybody else. I have a limited amount of energy to blow in a day. I'd rather read something that I like or watch a program I enjoy or ride my damn motorcycle or throw back a couple of shots of tequila with my friends.

To me, doing a gay pride show is one of the most fun things. My first show that paid more than $10,000 was in a gay club on New Year's Eve in San Francisco.

Racism is ignorant. And it's stupid. And it's old. And it's played out. So beat it already with that, you know what I mean? 'Let's all get along' - I'm so tired of that damn sentence, but it's true.

My mom has always been my champion. She was very smart and grounded. She said, 'Save your money. Pay your taxes. Don't put everything in one basket,' but she let me explore and be creative.

I enjoy going to work and having a good time. It's tough when you got to work with people who just are in a bad mood all the damn time.

I really don't know how to be anyone else, and whenever I try to be anyone else, I fail miserably. Or I disappoint myself. It doesn't build my self-esteem, and it doesn't help me grow me at all.

When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, 'You're either going to love yourself or hate yourself.' And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.

When I'm doing something I love, I can lose sleep. I can go and go and go and go. My work ethic is pretty intense. But when it comes to doing something that I don't love every day, I'm not very good at it. That's called work, and I don't like work that much.

The objectification of females is not a good thing! Not every rapper does this, but when the lyrics focus solely on the strip club, 'poppin' bottles' and how many girls they can 'tap,' it distorts what kids are learning. I think if there was more of a female presence in hip hop we could break up the monotony. It's all about balance.

I have a drum set in my dressing room. I play drums to relax and have some fun.

We ignore our feelings a lot, I realize. Many of us have to... until they really bite us in the butt.