Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
No matter what road I take, I can never get too far away from the conscious lyric and the socially conscious content.
The best thing I can do is stay on the road and build a grass-roots following. I'm constantly about building my brand.
If I'm not representing the people with my music for the goodwill of the Creator, it's all in vain at the end of the day.
I always been inspired and aspire to inspire through the music. I feel like I've always made the soundtrack to a movement.
There is no single individual greater than a mother. They are the great keepers of our society and heads of our households.
There's a difference between making the music for a check vs. what you think you should be doing artistically and creatively.
In every video that I have done, I have tried to have lead actresses of different variations from size and color to nationality.
I was a pretty sheltered kid, a slow starter. I was pretty secretive with my passion for music and, I guess, my talent and what-not.
At the end of the day, I just like to make the best music that I can make and put it out to the world and see how they respond to it.
I enjoy being slept on. It's like being on the verge of a cult movement. But making the underground-to-aboveground transition is cool.
When you talk about the exchange of energy between performer and audience and audience and performer, I hope that I'm one of the best.
Social networks didn't exist when I started. Twitter and Facebook didn't exist. It was all about MySpace when I first got in the game.
A lot of people put out an album, and you never hear from them again. They're working a day job or doing whatever to survive through life.
I am inspired by so much. I am inspired by women, of course - beautiful women. I am also inspired by not so beautiful things in the world.
I think I've nurtured the following that I have to the point where I can consistently do a certain type of numbers when I put a project out.
Sometimes, I see and hear stories, especially those that involve children, and I wonder if this is hell and we are trying to get into heaven.
When things happen socially in our community, as artists, we've got the right to exercise our voices if we choose to, use our powers for good.
I give a lot of myself, so it will be good to release some heavy energy, and I know yoga deals with energy. So I definitely want to get into that.
Even in a lot of hip-hop music, they tell you don't give your heart to a woman. But many of the most successful rappers are head-over-heels in love.
I went to college to find myself. That's where I really realized I wanted to be a recording artist and started on the process of figuring out how to do that.
Anything that exposes the arts more, that gives us an outlet to make money and also do what we enjoy doing as artists and to connect with the fans, I'm all for it.
All of my songs were about my firsthand experiences. Pretty much, I've learned how to become my own muse and take situations from my own life and wear them on my sleeve.
I have a good cry once in a while; it's such a great release. Or it could be a cry of joy - watching your child being born or your child walking across a graduation stage.
I love women - all types, all colors, petite, plus size. But in particular, I was raised by black women, and I feel like there is just something beautiful about black women.
Being an entertainer, my path to inner peace is engulfed in the music that I create. While it is therapeutic for those who hear it, it is equally therapeutic for me to create.
Relationships are amazing parts of our lives, but they are not always easy. They become even harder when we allow others to interfere in them with their questions and opinions.
I like to think that everything I do is tastefully done and doesn't come off necessarily like ratchet or something that tears women down. I like to make tasteful, seductive music.
Every so often, you have a producer or a songwriter or both or a team that comes along and really reshapes and redefines sonically what music is and the interpretation of it to the masses.
Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and are only one step away from being homeless. Whether you are white, black, Latino, or Asian, we have to be there to help pick each other up.
When it comes to beauty, women are nothing short of amazing. They come in variations of shapes, colors, and sizes. Each part of their character and personality adds an element to their beauty.
If you are going to believe in the fairy tale of 'Mr. Right,' then you need to keep everything in perspective. Know the things that make you happy. Know the things that enable and/or hinder your growth.
Most important are the lessons of being humble, being a giver, and generally being a loving and caring person for people. That is something that I am trying to instill in my kids and all the kids around the world.
Once you step foot on the Supreme Court steps, you lose your first-amendment rights. I don't see how, as an American citizen, you can't go to the Supreme Court steps and speak your mind or speak your piece peacefully.
Being independent isn't as flashy as a lot of people may think. It's a lot of hard work; its a lot of investing your own money. And to creatively time to make your day work - it's on you to make it work, and no one else.
I try to stay away from yes-men in my crew of immediate friends and peers. You got people that will tell you you're the greatest ever, but I need people that can tell me where I need to improve. I can respect the honest opinion.
Being in the public eye, I struggle to create and maintain romantic relationships. I am constantly faced with assumptions about who my significant other is, and it seems that there is always some speculation about my relationship status.
Settling is not necessarily a bad thing. People tend to take it as 'losing something in order to gain something else.' That does not have to be the case. Instead of using the word 'settling,' we should actually be using the word 'compromising.'
'Pretty Lady' is the conversation piece where you just need to compliment your lady. If you are in a club setting, and you just been eyeing a beautiful woman, this song came from me trying to compliment women and them turning their face up at me.
I was frustrated in the past, like, 'Wow, why do they have to throw me in the R&B urban adult contemporary lane?' 'Woman' was a no. 1 hit at Urban AC, so there's no disrespect to that lane. But did it get a fair shot at urban radio? No, I don't think so.
Truth be told, in determining what you want and who you want to be with, you will be compromising in certain areas. It can be in the area of appearance or occupation or maybe even certain personality characteristics, but no one person can have everything.
I put my own money up when I have a vision and believe in something. If you want a company to put money into something, then most of the time, they want to water your project down. When it's your money, it's your vision from the beginning to the end result.
Of course, music is still a passion for me, and my new sort of career doing radio is also a passion, but definitely to be able to put a smile on someone's face. Or just waking up every day, trying to figure out how I can change a person's life for the better.
Music is a frequency, and my frequency, when I put it out there, is on the love vibes. It's not always sappy. Like, 'Bulletproof' is a love song. It's a black love song. I made it for my people. I made it for the world, but I made it for my people in particular.
Whether I'm feeding the homeless, stopping by a high school to chat with teens, visiting a prison or local jail, I think that the greatest service you can give is yourself. To be able to help someone who is not in a position to help themselves or possibly ever repay you.
We all have friends that we confide in and talk to about our relationships. At times, we do not recognize the effect that this has on our relationship. We take a lot of what other people have to say to heart, and rightly or wrongly, it makes our way into our relationships.
To be a mother is a beautiful thing, but to be able to assume the role for a child in need is nothing less than amazing. I believe that any woman who takes on the role of a mother, whether it be naturally or through foster care or adoption, should be held in the highest regard.
Whenever I am faced with someone spreading negativity in my relationship, I remember the old saying, 'Misery loves company.' I am also reminded to be mindful of the company you keep. Sometimes you cannot see a hater until you are happy. It is then that they demonstrate their negativity.
I walked away from the Jive Records situation, but I still have a great relationship with a lot of the workers and a lot of people who were in that system that have moved on to other places. I felt like being there; it totally wasn't understood what the Raheem DeVaughn movement was about.
I believe in highlighting the 'greatness' that I see in every single woman that I come across. There is such beauty in variety. It may not always be evident, when you look at a woman, where her greatness lies. But the truth is that the greatness of women is reflected in the very essence of who we are.
Coming from a single parent household, I witnessed firsthand the strength and courage of the single mother. I always had my father in my life but my household was run by my mother and my grandmother. As a result, I have always had the utmost respect for women and have chosen to strongly convey that in my music.