I have my mother who is an Irish-Italian, and my father who is African, so I have the taste buds of an Italian and the spice of an African.
I've always been strong-minded, but I wonder.
How terrible would it have been if I had come out with some watered-down version of who I am? People fell in love with the real me, and I still feel blessed that that was how the journey began.
I really like to live my life in a low-key fashion.
To be able to help a 13-year-old kid from the Bronx follow her dreams just by letting her know she's not forgotten in this crazy world - that's why I got involved with Frum Tha Ground Up.
I know people who've gone to jail. It don't mean you stop loving them! They deservin' love just as much in there, and maybe they needin' it more.
Soul music is timeless.
I lived with my mom in a really small apartment. My bedroom was like in the living room. That's why I still love to sleep on couches now.
I have big everything on the bottom, but I love my legs. You've got to love what's yours.
Stevie Wonder's records introduced me to '70s soul when I was 12 or 13.
My mom always said, 'Don't date a guy who thinks he's prettier than you.'
From the beginning, I've had to juggle and weigh the silly things people say - and I've learnt that they're meaningless, and they're mostly inaccurate. So I don't worry about it, because there's nothin' for me to deal with.
I have solid decent people around me, and I believe that is all it is, because you will get destroyed if you have people bringing you down.
My mother is an actress, and she used to drag me from theater to theater and reading to reading.
I've learned that while I'd be a fool not to stay open to the advice and experiences of the smart, amazing people in my life, I also need to listen to what I have to say.
When I was younger, my mother and I, we'd have these crazy, crazy fights. Everyone would storm out mad, and the only way that I'd be able to express myself was to write her. We would write letters back and forth for days. When I'm writing, I feel uninterrupted. I write what I'm going through and how I see it.
We have the potential to help people out of poverty, out of disease, out of slavery and out of conflict. Too often, we turn the other way because we think there's nothing we can do.
I love my heritage!
When I'm on stage, my interaction with the audience is something that really makes me come alive. It's a feeling like no other. The energy of the crowd fuels something new inside.
For me, doing a show, the excitement of singing live, and the possibility that you're not gonna be perfect - that's the thrill of it.
