Inserting my personal brand of humor is something I have at times had trouble doing - but I feel like I've been learning about it a little more, how to do it, and how it helps my songs.

It's really rare in life that a situation is as black and white as we tend to paint it.

I always find my emotions all over the map, not so much a single thing overriding the rest.

You think of, like, Justin Timberlake. He does a three-hour performance every night, and it's like, wow, I don't know how that guy does it.

It's a strange position to be in. Not only the fact that I'm trying to live off work that is personal, but how you get the money for that is racing around the country and smiling for people and selling the record, you know what I mean?

I'm not a celebrity or anything.

I've performed in Japan before, as well as many other non-English speaking countries. I find you really just have to be a bit more animated than usual. Call-and-response routines work well, if they are simple. Otherwise, I just dance around like a circus monkey and hope the crowd feels it.

When you're younger, you really care who your fans are.

People's opinions outside of my direct group of friends means next to nothing.

People can label me whatever they like. I don't really care any more.

I've been writing for a long time.

I don't like being away from home for a long period of time.

I don't like to do the same songs every night for a week. I just... it's boring and tiring and frustrating basically.

Performing is fine.

Every record I do does a little better than the last, which in turn makes me more stressed out.

I'm never really comfortable; I think it's kind of natural to feel uncomfortable, and I think if people say they are comfortable, they're just lying.

We're all just cats trying to be original, which is what I think being a B-boy is about.

I just try to reflect the grittiness in New York. I try to protect the grit and the dirt that comes with it, which is a good thing.

I love rap lyrics, I love hearing people rap, I love molding a thought or idea into the shape that fits on a rap beat.

I think I'm always surprised at how much the musicians I meet put weight on things that aren't music.

I guess, for me, the idea of finding an identity through creative means has always been a way to deal with otherwise feeling awkward and uncomfortable out in the world.

People will put me in whatever box they feel the most comfortable having me in, and nothing I can do will change that.

I used to do a lot of one-off collabs, features, stuff like that.

I feel like a lot of times, when making a one-song collab with someone, it's easy for one person to not be fully invested. I guess you'd call that 'mailing it in.' But when you say 'This is our album,' then all parties have a reason to make it as good as possible, and the goal becomes seeing what we can do together as a unit.

I like feeling warm inside a small home, knowing there's a set of glowing eyes out in the woods somewhere. It's just a vibe I enjoy writing about, and it deals simultaneously with safety and danger.

I like to make stuff and I try to stay busy.

My brothers each reacted differently to 'Blood Sandwich.' It's a very specific type of odd feeling when there's a song written about you. People react to it differently.

You have to write about what's inside you. If I have to get something out, I'll do it.

I don't really engage much in the creative community. I just kind of keep to myself and do my work.

Rap music started because they were bored of other music so they created something really new.

I don't want to be the next face of America.

Mark my words, even if I sell out a club of 15,000 with all girls, I'm not taking my shirt off. I'm sorry. I know y'all are waiting to see the pasty stomach and everything.

I got tired of everybody repeating the same phrases in the hip-hop world.

The only way I'm comfortable with a new album is if I'm taking a new risk.

I am a failed visual artist.

The people I feel inspired around draw pictures, they make paintings.

Musicians are all about celebrity first and foremost, and I just can't do it. The second any sort of popularity contest comes into the picture, I have to walk in the other direction. These people are sociopaths.

Artwork, films, TV - it's always informed my work, no matter what I'm working on.

Doing something like 'Bushwick,' a lot of people need to agree that the piece is working with what's going on on the screen. So it's a lot of tweaks and re-works, just kinda moving pieces around and getting things to hit right.

I don't claim to be a composer, and I realize my approach is pretty dopey in comparison to the true masters of score work. That said, if someone thinks what I do specifically would work for their film, then, of course, let's see what we can do.

I've traveled a lot, I've rapped a lot. I like to think that's all in the toolbox to be tapped into when I need it.

I'd love it if one of my songs became a hit.

I think in your 30s you can still pretend you're in your 20s, or at least maintain some semblance of youth. Forty is when you've got to stop denying the inevitable.

I know so many people that were really able to lead 'perfect' lives. They meet the right person, they make the babies, they get the jobs, they get the house and it's essentially a smooth ride. That really didn't happen for me.

Most artists - painters or writers - I think create out of stress or negative situations. Look at rock music. It's about getting things off of your chest, and it's a means of venting in many ways. That's what my work is about.

I would say the best toy for any cat is always some sort of dangling item on a string or fishing-rod-type structure.

I believe giving pets 'people food,' while tempting, is generally frowned upon. As a pet owner you want to prioritize your animal's health over the entertainment value in watching your little guy bat around a small piece of chicken.

Sometimes comfort zones are the best. Sometimes discomfort is just what the doctor ordered.

Finding something new that I know I've never done before is the best feeling I know, and when I get there it's all worth it.

If a song or group hits you at the right time in your life, it's everything. It's bigger than school or family or anything else.