'Nuyorican Soul' has a lot to do with our lives, growing up in New York, listening to all different styles of music, hanging out with all different kinds of people.
George Benson conquered many different genres, from pop ballads to R&B to jazz.
Look at Daft Punk and Kanye West. The song 'Stronger' was inspired by a Daft tune. Once the hip-hop scene opens up to all the great music that came out of dance, it will continue to spread to the more mainstream audience.
Dance music has evolved very much. From DJs playing at the Olympics, to playing at the Super Bowl, working with Cirque Du Soleil and even getting recognized at the Grammys with awards, dance music is growing in a big way.
My abiding childhood memory is watching my uncle perform to thousands in Madison Square Garden. He wore a white suit and came down from the ceiling on a rope, and the crowd went crazy.
At rehearsals, I began conducting the band, counting them in without thinking. I guess it came from watching salsa legends like my uncle and Tito Puente, who was very much the leader of his band on stage.
I want to record many albums, have a healthy record label with talented artists, keep building my publishing catalogue, and maintain our culture with good music that will be remembered for years to come.
Dance is merging with the more mainstream hip hop/R&B scene, and there will be new ideas and sounds.
The good thing about 'Nuyorican Soul' is we get a little bit of everybody liking it.
We'd take records you'd never hear in clubs and make them into club tracks. We were doing B-sides on records that had nothing to do with the songs, and calling them Masters at Work dubs.
Every time we play our music in clubs, there's such a strong reaction.