Growing up, you hear Tupac's music, it's kind of like... it goes without saying that everyone likes Tupac.

Black films and television are growing and getting the recognition... and the opportunities.

The one thing that I'm always gonna promote is, 'Don't look at a fellow black man as an enemy.' And it's hard. It's really hard, though, when you're coming up. It's something that you have to teach yourself and learn.

I will say this: Rapping-wise, there has never been anybody to match Tupac's energy when coming on a song, like when rappin'. It's unmatched. You can't duplicate it.

Meetings should be like salt - a spice sprinkled carefully to enhance a dish, not poured recklessly over every forkful. Too much salt destroys a dish. Too many meetings destroy morale and motivation.

If you're a songwriter, you have to do homework. You can exist for a while on the inspiration, but at some point, you have to sit down and have the discipline to write - to finish the poem, as they say.

I really think about the times that I've been through with my husband and all the stuff that we've been through together, and I think to those moments for inspiration for the role.

Though involvement in music and the arts can't cure all the ills of society, I do believe that the inspiration they provide has the potential to help us reflect, at times, on the better angels of our natures.