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.

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

I realize how much my life lines up with artists like Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. My sound comes from church, but the stories come from actual personal experience, being out there in the streets living life.

I'm very close with my higher power. I have a very strong connection with it.

I only collaborate with the people I rock with in life, period. I rock with people where I really respect their craft and respect what they're doing. That's what collaboration should start from.

I definitely have a relationship with God for myself, and yes I grew up that way, and I choose to keep the relationship that way. It's real; that's my balance. Sundays, I was in church, and Monday through Friday, I was with the knuckleheads having a little fun.