BJ the Chicago Kid

In a compass, we got north, south, east and west, right? But in between that, you got things like north-east - now that, to me, is where real life is. Everybody's life is not straight: it's often 30 degrees to your left, or in the hardest part of the reach. ”

The most important and common thing is to be able to connect with your fans. If you can't live life, then you can't connect with the fans. ”

I only collaborate with the people I rock with in life, period. I rock with people where I really respect their craft and respect what they're doing. That's what collaboration should start from. ”

I just believe in giving people their roses while they're living. That's my new thing - period. ”

My dad helped me understand songwriting because of him playing Babyface a lot. I don't even know if my dad realized that him just being him, him just living his life, loving what he loved, poured more into me than anybody ever would know. ”

I realize how much my life lines up with artists like Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. My sound comes from church, but the stories come from actual personal experience, being out there in the streets living life. ”

It's crazy all the dreams you have about what you want to do, how you want to do it, and when you're going to do it. As a child, you never know the date or that one person who's going to take you to the next person, who is going to put you in position and give you that one opportunity. ”

The aggression. The love. The joy. The pain. All those feelings and emotions that come from the music are Chicago. Chicago pretty much made me the man that I am. It's in my name. I have no choice but to accept and embrace that. ”

As a man, if you're married, your happiness is with her happiness. If she's unhappy, everything's messed up. It's a woman's world for sure. ”

Style is a big part of my life. I used to work in retail before I was an artist; a lot of people didn't know that. I was so good at selling clothes and shoes, and just the lifestyle, that I could tell what size someone was wearing just by looking at them. ”