There's no anger ever in a spiritual. There's always the dream of a hope of a better day coming. That God understands the troubles that I'm experiencing.
I've always really liked theater. It fascinated me. You can create a reality and get people involved in that reality. It takes place in real time.
People haven't always been there for me, but music always has.
Throughout my rapping career, I always cooked for myself and anyone I worked with. It's what actually kept me grounded through those crazy years.
I was neither good in sports nor at studies, but I always wanted to stand out and be noticed.
I was never looking to be popular. The trade-off for me in seeking other people's opinions is the potential to help that you get in the media. And we don't always do that, but when we do, it's a beautiful thing.
At one point, I had over 800 employees, and I always paid all health care for my people - including a man who was my assistant who got HIV. I wound up paying his medical bills, which went into the hundreds of thousands. I'm not making myself out to be a saint. I did the right thing.
Hip hop classes and ballet are what I've been keeping up with, and of course my usual abdominal workout, which consists of 500 sit-ups a session. Or I take a 30-minute abs class at my gym. But dance classes are a full-body cardio workout, which always brings me success and keeps me feeling great.
Sometimes my songs wander off a bit and are not always coherent.
There are books all around me... I don't read as much as I used to, but I always have a book or two going.
Sometimes animal exercises can help you get in touch with parts of yourself that you don't access day to day. In my day-to-day physicality, I'm a little bit like a terrier. I've always been described as a dog. I'm kind of goofy and a little dopey looking sometimes.
I was always in a big hurry to do everything. Before I was 20, I was married twice and had two kids. But I don't regret any of it. I learned a lot about myself. I had a lot to say for someone my age, real early on.
I have always held the conviction that American citizens should keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible.
Writing with kids is an adventure. It seems like someone always has the flu or pink-eye. I mean, you don't even have to be in direct contact with anyone to get pink-eye. But for parents who write, flexibility becomes essential, and as long as I have a pad of paper and a pen, I can write anywhere. Starbucks is fine.
I've been waiting to have facial hair on camera for the longest time - I'm always playing teenagers, and I always have to shave. I'll let you in on a little secret: I have sensitive skin, and I'm a sensitive guy, so shaving is something that I don't look forward to.
However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.
I've always loved Don Cheadle and Jeffery Wright and even Sam Jackson.
I think as any artist you always want to grow; you always want to get better.
I've always been curious about how much of our cultural baggage we bring to what and how we read. I suspect we bring a lot, although we like to think we don't.
I didn't always want to be a model, but once I started, I realized how much I loved it.
I want to continue to be the same man I've always been.
I grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. For part of my life, I was living in Detroit, and I remember a friend of mine commenting she could always tell when I had been speaking to my mother because my New York accent had come back.
In the Catholic tradition, the idea of giving something up on a Friday - the act of self denial - has always been tied with being generous to those in need.
I always felt that church is where I'm going to find my community and people to live my life with.
A guitar for me is pretty much strictly in the context of writing songs for my band, coming up with ideas with my band, and then being able to perform those songs as best as I can on stage - that's what the guitar for me has always been.
I was always told I was special. And I was also assured that I had a gift and a purpose.
I'm always interested in what you can do with technology that people haven't thought of doing yet.
I always loved singing. No matter where I was, I would just make up my own stuff.
The weird thing about film, which I don't really care for, is that I'm always surprised when I see the film. One way or another, I'm always surprised.
Any character, for me, always comes together in the hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Shoes especially. For some reason, shoes really do it for me because they help me figure out how the character walks.
I've always loved acting, and I do respect the craft.
For me, the NFL is the thing that's always been, kind of somewhat like the Heisman, it's been a dream as a kid to be able to have an opportunity to even be talked about being able to play in the NFL.
I always used to say to my wife, the thing that I loved most about us is that we are a team, we are impenetrable in that respect.
To kids, I've always been more than just some big tough black guy. I train to be tough - I box and do karate - but underneath all that toughness is a tender man.
'Star Trek' episodes always insisted that humanity is on its bumpy way to what will be a glorious future in the 23rd century, in which we will have left most of our old selfishness - and old hatreds and prejudices - far behind us.
Dance music always goes through its changes; many styles come have their light and go back to the underground 'til it happens again.
