Basically my personality, and my talent, and my lyrics are so outstanding that what listeners can tell is that I put so much hard work into what I'm doing because it comes through my music. So I feel that my music for one will get my point across. I write from my heart and my spirit... You know what I'm sayin'? Some people don't know their place, they're just like "Oh I rap because I'm tryin' to get this or that, and I'm doin' this because I want to get money.

In my day, in my era, Ralph McDaniels, just being five and being at his block party, you could just got onstage.

Ever since I was a kid, I was always a fan of hip hop. If you get your limelight whether your sixteen or twenty-one or wherever you're at, you get your lime when you get your lime, but if you're a part of hip hop and a child of hip hop, then you will always be a part of hip hop.

When I was younger, coming up in this industry, I was 17, 18 years old. You couldn't tell me Beyonce wasn't my friend. You couldn't tell me that Janet Jackson wasn't my girl. You couldn't tell me that once I signed to my label that me and J.Lo weren't going to have tea in L.A.

MC Lyte definitely embraces me. Jada Pinkett Smith embraces me. Those are two people that I can call and get advice. Those are two people that will call me to see what I'm doing.

I'm born to do music. I'm born to act. I'm born to dance and all of these things, and I will be respected.

When I was 17 years old, I put out an album while my mother was dying of cancer. That right there alone is a struggle. That's hard. That's tough for anybody.

Lauryn Hill might have cursed a couple of times in her music, and Missy Elliot definitely just doesn't care. I'm really more inspired by their creativity more so than just the cursing. I'm really impressed by clean music.

I didn't know that Left Eye's dad passed away right when she wanted to tell him that she just signed to LaFace Records. After I signed to Jive Records and just before I put out my first album, my mother passed away. It was very odd how much we had in common.

One of the things that makes me most happy about music is that I can look at a picture and see Da Brat, Missy, Lil Kim, Left Eye, and I know Aaliyah is a singer, but to see them all in one photo together hugging and laughing and really having genuine love for each other... I want to feel that with my hip hop sisters.