In the early 1990s, I was signed as a singer to the same label as Robyn. She was in her early teens, and I was in my twenties, so we didn't hang out, but our paths crossed so many times that we slowly got to know each other and became friends.

I began my career as a recording artist, and eventually I started directing my own music videos.

Building a cast is a card house. They lean on each other, provide for each other, and take from each other.

I think for something to be beautiful, it has to have some darkness in it; otherwise, it's just pretty. And pretty does not interest me at all.

I was painfully shy as a child; I was dyslexic. I had a single mother who's an immigrant. I just didn't believe acting was something that people like me could do on a professional level.

A lot of musicians talk about how they were into music from the start; they always wanted to be musicians. It wasn't like that for me. I didn't think of it as a job or a career - it was just something that was constant.

No matter what setting I play in, I will always be New Orleans. It's one of the only cities where you can hang out with the Marsalis family, the Neville brothers, whoever it might be, and we all play together.

I love Lyon and have only known Lyon, so obviously, it will be a big change if I do go, but a change that I am ready for and one that will be good for me and my career. It would be the end of one life and the start of another exciting one.