BJ the Chicago Kid

I can't be Stevie Wonder; I can't be Marvin Gaye, but I can be the foundation that I think withholds that mold. ”

Chicago taught me when to talk, taught me when to shut up, taught me when to stay, taught me when to go. And really it all forms to make BJ the Chicago Kid. ”

Success for me is being comfortable, and not in terms of a certain level of financial status, but that comfort comes from within. ”

You cannot have black music without something soulful in it, whether it's lyrically, how it's performed, or how it's expressed. ”

Every hip-hop artist I have worked with has a respect for higher power, whether that's church, Allah, or any sort of higher being - they all have a humbleness. ”

The people I'm inspired by and I listen to are all ballsy, and I feel like I'm closer to an artist when they're open and honest. ”

You can't be afraid to be honest and to be yourself. We all have imperfections and fall short at some point. Showing your human side creates a sensitivity, openness and trust. That's the beginning of the demise in a relationship - not being honest and not being you. ”

My mom and my dad was the best example of unconditional love I could see as a kid. I've known it my whole life. Interactions, kissing, hugging - it definitely wasn't the fake love. ”

I just love how everyone with that Motown sound seemed to come from a two-block radius from the actual original location. The original location was a house, and then when they outgrew it, they bought the house next door and the house next door and the house next door until they had seven houses on the same lot. ”

I love loyalty, and I love paying back my end of loyalty, you know what I'm saying? I love making it full circle. ”