There is no real security except for whatever you build inside yourself.
When you start to doubt yourself the real world will eat you alive.
I was quite small as a kid and maybe a little afraid physically. When I grew into myself, the realisation changed. That when you hurt yourself, it's transient; it doesn't stay forever.
If believing in yourself and going after what you want in life and realising your worth is ruthless and selfish, then I'm definitely ruthless and selfish.
Always go with your passions. Never ask yourself if it's realistic or not.
Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.
Maybe to become famous is to reassure yourself that whatever you're lacking inside, you've fulfilled that.
One thing I always think about is, at the end of the day, nobody really cares about you as much as they do about themselves. It's a very reassuring thing, in a good way. Pay attention to yourself, and use that energy and put it towards yourself.
Writing this record let me recapture who I am. It is summed up in the title Be Not Nobody. You need to feel comfortable in your skin and do whatever you need to do for yourself, to heal or to grow.
If you have a recital to do, you have to memorize the songs. I never use music when I do recitals. It produces an instant barrier, both for yourself and the audience.
It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others.
If you look to your past or even your present to see why you are here or what your purpose is, you may get stuck in a limited view of yourself. Instead, look beyond your years here on earth, reconnect with the divine, and bring forth your soul's legacy into the present moment.
You come to these thresholds in your life where you need to remember why you do what you do, to reconnect with yourself. When I look back at something like 'Raw Like Sushi,' I think I was very much in the right place at the right time.
It's all false pressure; you put the heat on yourself, you get it from the networks and record companies and movie studios. You put more pressure on yourself to make everything that much harder.
A record deal doesn't make you an artist; you make yourself an artist.
I hate that when you introduce yourself, and you're a rapper, sometimes you gotta say, 'I'm a musician.' Or, 'I'm an artist.' 'I'm a recording artist.' 'I'm a vocalist.'
I think it's too easy to recount your unhappy memories when you write about yourself. You bask in your own innocence. You revere your grief. You arrange your angers at their most becoming angles.
It's impossible to redefine yourself and your life overnight.
Really, at the end of the day, the only thing you can control is yourself; the only person you can truly educate is yourself. You have to redefine what beauty is to you so you can't be affected by what people are saying.
I think it is important to keep redefining yourself as an actor with the roles you do and, at the same time, create diversity in your body of work.
