My little girls are the most beautiful women in the world. I am a lucky, lucky man. I will spend every day making sure that they know this.
Black actors on the road, flying around the country working as poets. Those people are inspirations for millions of kids who write.
I think when you’re very dedicated to something and you’re engaged fully, you become a giver.
Not every move you make has to be a great leap.
But rich or poor, black or white, none of us are entitled to anything.
I know a lot of angry liberals right now. Hell, I know a lot of angry vegans.
I knew it was unrealistic to think I could build an institution overnight. But if I took baby steps, eventually it would happen.
Gratefulness is a practice, just like happiness is a choice.
The soundtrack in the poetry is the soundtrack from your own heartbeat.
One positive thought can change your whole day.
Meditation can reintroduce you to the part that’s been missing.
Always try to be yourself.
I feel the choices our president Barack Obama is making now are safer and better.
I’ve been thinking a lot about gay marriage. I’m a big supporter.
We need to hear everyone. We need dialogue between police and the community. They’re angry. They’re hurt. A dialogue can cause a shift in consciousness in the person if he’s understanding you and listening.
Nowhere in the Bible, Koran, or Torah does it say, “If you curse, then you’re going to hell.” But everywhere it says that if you kill, you’re going to wherever they send you, depending on the religion.
If you want to say something profound, writing from your heartbeat is different than writing from the loud voices you get from music. If they’re rapping from noise, it’s about robbing people. It’s that simple.
I would like to employ more people but I don’t want to empower my charities at the cost of exploiting people or doing things that are not useful, so I’m working on that.
I don’t eat anything that runs away from me.
Music is the noise that surrounds the stillness of the art form.