Music Is A Gift And A Burden

I Applied For A Scholarship To Curtis Institute Of Music In Philadelphia. I Knew I Was Good Enough, But They Turned Me Down. And It Took Me About Six Months To Realize It Was Because I Was Black. I Never Really Got Over That Jolt Of Racism At The Time.

The Worst Thing About That Kind Of Prejudice... Is That While You Feel Hurt And Angry And All The Rest Of It, It Feeds You Self-doubt. You Start Thinking, Perhaps I Am Not Good Enough.

Since I Was Three I've Been Playing The Piano. I've Been Onstage. My Mother Is An Evangelist And I Used To Play The Piano At Her Revival Meetings.

What Kept Me Sane Was Knowing That Things Would Change, And It Was A Question Of Keeping Myself Together Until They Did.

I Don't Like Rap Music At All. I Don't Think It's Music. It's Just A Beat And Rapping.