Musician

Basically, if you work hard and practice an instrument every day, you'll learn how to play like a professional. You'll get better and better each day. And that's how it works for me. I wasn't magically inclined to play. I had to keep practicing and practicing to train my fingers.

People like RZA and DJ Premier are really on the balcony to scope my musical theories. They also help me focus on making sure I make money, making sure I get the notoriety I should, just regular stuff that friends do when you're in the business. And to call them friends is amazing.

I'm a hip hop dude who loves scoring for film.

I don't like to focus on just hip-hop because with hip-hop, I can only do so much; with a vocalist, I can only do so much, but the limitations are varying.

I've always been a big fan of Kendrick's, but it's different when you hear him on your own production.

I'd never record digitally. It's not because its' a horrible way to record, it's just not the best way to record my music, because my music is rawer, darker and a little more nostalgic.

I always feel like young people are more emotionally in tune with new and timeless music.

I'm the black dude that loves old black culture. I also love old white culture. I just love history, but I'm the guy that wants to bring things back and push them forward.

I basically wake up at five in the morning and grab coffee and just get to the studio. And I have a list of things I need to get done every day. Sometimes it's just mixing, sometimes it's actually writing, sometimes it's writing, recording, and mixing. It all depends on what is necessary that day.

Cee Lo - to me, his voice is classic; I've personally said to him before, 'For me, your voice is as special as a Michael Jackson vocal,' because of what he can do, his range. I said that to him, and I mean that.

I'd never record digitally. It's not because its' a horrible way to record, it's just not the best way to record my music, because my music is rawer, darker and a little more nostalgic.

I always feel like young people are more emotionally in tune with new and timeless music.

I want listeners to feel as though they went through an experience.

I love sampling, and RZA loves sampling, too.

I started buying ill, obscure records, and then I saw Portishead and Air live, and my mouth was on the ground.

To me, the Ennio Morricone kind of sound is a derivative of soul music.

I have a J.D., but I'm not a practicing attorney as far as entertainment law goes.

To me, recording with live instruments and tape takes things back to an older sound that I like but that's still fresh.

When you're recording live, really good vintage instruments onto two-inch tape, it's the best fidelity you can get.

Generally, as a composer, it's perceived as an employer-employee relationship.