Acting really started for me because I was in a house full of adults. They never shielded their lives from me. They were adults going through this world doing what they had to do. I used to like to watch them and imitate them. They all have their own distinct personalities; even though they're family, we couldn't be more different people.

I learned everything I know about music from my parents and my sisters.

My father was retired military, and my mother was an educator. She was incredibly creative. I used to love going to her school during the summer and helping her decorate her classroom. I would draw Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck. She was a sixth grade teacher. She and my father are the ones that got me into my love of music.

I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which is where J. Cole is from. I went up to Washington, D.C., where my mother moved, to stay with her, and then moved back to North Carolina to finish junior high and high school.

Atlanta has become and has always been a place where you create your own universe.

At Morehouse, I found myself and my voice, and I didn't want to lose that at Yale.

My sisters were teenagers when I was born, so the last thing they wanted was a little nappy-headed boy running around. I would imitate them or copy things off TV.

You can put Trump in the White House, but you need to prepare for a revolt because I'm going nuts.

There's something about being onstage, man. No matter what age I am or where I'm going, theater will constantly be the thing that accepts me and embraces me.

Hug your mom. Hug your mom and thank your mom.

I love the element of surprise, throwing people off of what they think they know about what I can do and who I am. I just want to keep doing that.

Aja Naomi is one of my good friends.

I stay in contact with my castmates from 'Atlanta' almost every day.

I'm very grateful, first of all, for my friends and my family because they keep me grounded, and they make sure I'm taking care of myself and that I'm keeping my sanity about me.

It's really humbling and gratifying to see that people are finally realizing that we are talented and we have things to say and that our stories are just like your stories. There's no reason that anybody from Wisconsin or Turkey can't relate to 'Atlanta.'

On top of trying to find my way in this business and losing my mother and trying to figure out what family meant to me and everything - 2016, there was a lot of anger from me and a lot of anger all around. I think the hardest part was to really realize that all these things, it's worth it.

I never thought that 'Atlanta' would go off and do what it was gonna do. I never thought that I would get recognized for that show the way that I have been.

I always say I'm not going to work: I'm going to play with my friends.

I don't think I'm going to be back on 'This Is Us.' I think that Uncle Ricky had his moment; he did what he had to do.

I love that you can just walk into the club and hear Young Jeezy or hear Fetty, and it's on.

When I was three years old, one of the first albums I ever heard was Michael Jackson's 'Off the Wall.'

My father had one of the biggest vinyl collections I've ever seen.

I think the Oscar is the big money award; that means you've made it in a money sense. The Tony has always represented - to me, and most actors that I've talked to - an artistic award. It means you're an artist and not just a popular performer.

One of the interesting things an artist does is they keep rediscovering things, whether it's a jazz piece or a role you've done for 3,000 performances or a song you're singing for the 3,000th time. My job is to find that spark that keeps it fresh and alive.