There's always going to be a part of me that wants an Emmy. Truthfully, I'm probably more motivated by people being entertained. I'm more motivated by people being like, 'Oh snap! Did you see that?'

There's hip-hop music in 'Power,' but the show is not about the hip-hop industry.

I love Pusha T and The Clipse.

It's ridiculous that we let broadcast and cable shows compete against each other at the Emmys. They are not the same animal.

I always ask the actors, 'What have you never done before?'

The story always leads you where it's supposed to go.

Every writer should be able to write anything if you do the research and you're sensitive enough to ask the questions.

I am not going to say that only people of color can write people of color, because that means only white people can write white people, and that's not OK.

When I was pitching 'Power,' I had an executive say, 'Well, I already have a black show.' He said that right to my face.

I had to figure out that finding my place was not about race but about creativity, and connecting with other artists helped me find my voice.

In college, I didn't know whether to hang out with the black kids or the white kids, and then I found the theatre kids, and I was like, 'Oh, it doesn't matter.' We were all weird and listening to Morrissey and wearing Doc Martens so that was my tribe.

My parents were 30 years older than I was, and my parents had my brother and I ten years apart. My parents grew up in segregation, and they both lived in all-black neighborhoods and grew up with large black families. I didn't have any of that, and I didn't understand feeling so differently and being treated so differently.

I always wanted to make a show that had everything I wanted to watch, as opposed to just one or two things.

I am a black woman, and I'm proud of that, but as a showrunner, I want to think about what makes me unique beyond my race.

If I weren't a showrunner, I'd be a much more accomplished mother; if I were not a mother, I would be a much more accomplished showrunner. I have to be okay with getting a B in both.

If you are other, you don't think twice about hiring people who are other.

I want to be a strong voice, period.

I think it's really cool that someone could have ovaries and the presidency. Growing up, I thought I could never be president because I was black and female. Now I know that's wrong. Within my own lifetime - that's different. Within my lifetime, interracial couples are more common. Within my own lifetime, biracial folks are able to claim that.

I'm seeing more and more people of color do what I do as showrunners, and that's so great. I would love to get to the point where we don't have to talk about it anymore.

Being a showrunner is doing a bit of everything. It's not just writing. It's also management: managing actors, managing producers, managing a crew, being kind to people, being a good boss, observing deadlines.

Being a writer is great because you get to come up with stuff.

I don't want to be seen in a way where all I can do is what people expect of me.

As a writer of fiction, you don't ever want to limit the characters you create to the life you've lived. That's insanity to me.

I think women judge other women more harshly, always, which is a shame.