The cologne you pick should make you feel good when you go out with it. I think confidence comes across more than any other of our attributes.
I'd be saying, 'No, I'm so not a DJ, I'm a producer.' But no matter how much faith you may have in yourself, until you have a hit you can't really run around telling everyone you're a producer.
My grandmother always used to wear this English perfume called Tuberose and then she died and then I dated this girl who wore the same thing. Every time I hung out with her, I could only think of my recently deceased grandmother. So sometimes a signature scent can be good and sometimes it can be bad.
I vaguely remember in the '90s when Calvin Klein started making unisex CK1. Don't worry about whether it's made for men or women. Listen, we all like to put mum's clothes on sometimes. What's important is that it feels right for you.
Being a die-hard Knicks fan, I remember hunting down these orange-and-blue Nikes that they only released in England. And I used to hunt for sneakers when I DJ'd in Japan. But then Nike flooded the market with a head-spinning array of color combinations and it just didn't seem cool anymore.
I never studied jazz technically; I just know and love the music.
When I started 'Record Collection,' I had no idea that it would come out sounding the way that it did, and that's one of the best things about the creative process, taking turns with the things you didn't know.
Stevie Wonder doing 'We Can Work It Out' by the Beatles is one of my favorite records of all time.
You draw the best things from your parents and family. You're going to pick up some of the bad things as well - there's a temper that runs through my dad's side of the family that I'm not especially keen on picking up a giant block of.
I think I have an inherent modest level of stress, but I'm only super-aware of it when it goes away, when I'm on holiday and I think, 'Oh this feels pretty good.'
I'd been DJ-ing in these clubs in N.Y. and I hated everything that was coming out. So I decided I would make it myself. People were making mash-ups or remixes, but I was extra bored, so I actually started remaking these records from scratch.
I never had that wicked stepmother or evil stepfather thing at all. I'm very close to both step-parents and I consider them to be my parents, too.
I don't think I've got an innate sense of style, but I guess I'm influenced by those I love and admire. You hope that you combine those influences in a way that becomes your own.
My mother was pretty strict. I hated it, but maybe it made me a bit more sensible.
A 'GQ' award is kind of, like, insane. It's a huge thing.
I'm always nervous before starting a record because I can never sleep. I'm like, 'I have no good ideas, everyone is gonna see through me.'
Sometimes I have to shut off the omnipresent disco ball and flashing lights that are always in my head. It's a part of maturing, I guess - just learning that it's not just always about a quick, easy fix of getting people to dance.
I think that the things that are interesting sometimes, when you're striving for a sound, you just get it wrong 'cause of your own limitations. That's when you get something kind of original.
D'Angelo could sing the phonebook and it would sound good.
I don't have a crazy rider clause saying I have to stay at fancy hotels. I don't have a problem with staying at a Marriott. But I will admit that I've gotten just basic, regular service there.
