There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

My fondest memories were watching the Beastie Boys get prepped to come on stage. They had a lot of antics and they play a lot of basketball... then they were giving out cameras to the crowd, and performing from the bleachers. The most important thing I learned was that you control your crowd, not the other way around.

If you look at my career, doing albums with Norah Jones, Justin Timberlake, Gucci Mane and Lil Wayne or KRS-One and Jean Grae, I can't be pigeonholed.

We find that the more you talk about it, the more you head off any spontaneous inspiration that might happen.

The 'National Suit Drive' collects gently used professional attire, but what it's really collecting is inspiration and a chance for men to feel empowered as they head into their next job interview.

All too often, when creative people pick out someone else's creative work as an inspiration, what they end up with is very, very far from the original.

I collect art like other people eat pizza. I can't get enough of it. I need a constant source of inspiration.