When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about me, but I always felt like at least musically, let me just do what I do and be the best at it. Which is what I'm doing right now.
Even as a kid in drawing class, I had real ambition. I wanted to be the best in the class, but there was always some other feller who was better; so I thought, 'It can't be about being the best, it has to be about the drawing itself, what you do with...
Try to find someone with a sense of humor. That's an important thing to have because when you get into an argument, one of the best ways to diffuse it is to be funny. You don't want to hide away from a point, because some points are serious, but you'...
I did this one movie with a great director named Wayne Kramer. It was 'Crossing Over,' and Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta were in it. I was one of the leads, and I thought this was it. It got shelved for two years, and then it was in theat...
Marriage is all about knowing the ins and outs and the intimate details, and your wife is supposed to be the person you know best. But my brother and I think alike, know everything about one another, and when we get together, we block everything else...
You don't really know how your film is going to turn out, but you can give it your best shot and hope the audience loves it. This has been my approach right from the beginning, and it's helped me a lot in my journey. All you can do is give the film y...
For me, the best thing I can do is play live. The best way for me to put over what I'm trying to do is to play live. Whether it's an acoustic show, electric or whatever... if I shine at all, that's where it all really happens - it just took me a whil...
Dad needs to show an incredible amount of respect and humor and friendship toward his mate so the kids understand their parents are sexy, they're fun, they do things together, they're best friends. Kids learn by example. If I respect Mom, they're goi...
I picked up 'The Hunger Games' thinking it was written at my regressed reading level. I've spent hours reading it, and I'm not even halfway through. Our bass player, whose name is also Nate, ended up reading all three novels and loved them.
I've got so many mountains to climb and goals to conquer. I've got so many scars I want to leave on the planet. I just feel like I'm not there yet. I feel like I am just getting started.
What can I say that will make people that are in recovery want to stand up and support Recovery Month? A friend of mine said, 'You know, the fact that you did a really honest book and it changed people's lives, that's something to talk about.'
I am pushing you, even if it’s off a cliff, to create. Write that book, that song; pore over the concept of redecorating your life. I meet people all the time who say they’re not creative. Bullshit, motherfuckers, you are creative.
For hundreds of years people have talked about artists having inspiration, but often, some persons would say, write us a symphony or write us a song, on commission. The artists would come up with a masterpiece without waiting to have their muse inspi...
When I am seriously composing, sometimes a phrase will come into my head, a catch phrase. When I was writing pop songs for a few years, as a career, separate from my folksinging career, I used to write songs for pop singers.
Everybody should have their own thing, and if he don't want to be a role model, that should be up to him. In the right situations, I can try to help and be a role model, but I'm still gonna speak my mind, and if that affects the role-model deal, then...
Some people don't like my songs because they think they're too simple or easy or not that thought-out. I feel like the way I write is pretty simple, in some ways, because I'm trying to connect. I want a lot of people to hear it, and be moved in some ...
Egyptian drumming happens to be a favorite of mine. It's a really simple instrument, but it's really difficult to play. You can take it anywhere with you - you can play it in your room, in an airport. It's very quiet, so you explore the quiet side.
Nicki Minaj thanked me on the first mixtape that she put out. She shouted me out, said thank you for allowing her to borrow my English accent sometimes. And honestly, a lot of people have told me that I've influenced them.
Just because a black man is running the RNC doesn't mean black folks are going to, 'Oh, OK, I will be a Republican.' Just as with the election of President Obama. All the problems and concerns that are very important to African Americans don't get so...
We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings. We need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.
But I don't blame you anymore, that's too much pain to store...it left me half dead...inside my head. And boy looking back I see I'm not the girl I used to be. When I lost my mind, it saved my life.
