I love traveling around and talking to women in groups like the Girl Scouts, and being able to work with them is such an honor. For me, it's always about working really hard and being able to help other people, which is what I've done with both of my books.
If I didn't have a girlfriend, I'd have 10 girls at the studio, and they would make me not rap.
I asked my girlfriend, 'Will you marry me?' She said, 'We'll have to ask my father.' So we had a seance and Jack Ruby says, 'Hello!'
Well, a girlfriend once told me never to fight with anybody you don't love.
My girlfriend has to beat me up to get me to relax because I work all the time.
I like human stories. I like stories about situations we can relate to. I like movies like 'Ordinary People' or 'Terms of Endearment.' Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, boyfriends, girlfriends. The stories to me that are worth telling are almost simple ones, but very relatable.
Oh my God, my girlfriends are everything to me. They celebrate with you, they cry with you, they hold you when you need to be held. They laugh with you. They're mean with you! They're always there, and it's just a priceless thing to have.
I don't see myself as a pop artist. Like, when you hear 'pop,' you're like, 'Oh, bubblegum, jumpy little girly stuff,' and I feel like, 'Uh-uh. That's not me.'
'I'll be back' always sounded a little girly to me.
I hear that I dress like a boy and that I should be more girly, which I can understand, but I just focus on what I want to do and enjoy my time with fans who love me for who I am.
My first official teaching job was at GIT, which was fantastic because I wanted to pay the rent and I got to stay in the building, which is an inspiring place to be - the vibe was there. My first gig was doing private lessons. It went great. Then they decided to promote me to a classroom teacher. I taught a class called Single String Technique.
When writing 'Give and Take' and 'Originals,' the predominant emotion for me was curiosity.
Watching AIDS play its evil game of give and take has made me understand why lobbying for increased research funding should be an urgent priority - not only for the gay community but for us all.
Music - you need the give and take from the audience, the feeling of attention. It's not about me: it's about the music itself.
When you find somebody who doesn't give and take, you go, 'Remind me never to work with you again.'
The idea that success is limited is an easy one to believe. We buy into it, and often without even thinking. There aren't enough resources. Something for you means less for me. I understand it, too. It's the give and take of the human experience. If you have the apple, I can't then hold it at the same time... or can I?
Give me a child and I'll shape him into anything.
Give me liberty or give me death.
Give me liberty or a bran muffin!
Give me liberty or give me a bran muffin!
