My father moved to Hawaii from Brooklyn and my mother came there as a child from the Philippines. They met at a show where my dad was playing percussion. My mom was a hula dancer.

Hawaii is paradise. It sounds cheesy to say it, but there's music in the air there.

I came to California and got signed at a young age. And it's not like you see in the movies, where you start rubbing shoulders with Timbaland and Pharrell, and you become a giant pop star.

No one is ever quite ready; everyone is always caught off guard. Parenthood chooses you. And you open your eyes, look at what you've got, say "Oh, my gosh," and recognize that of all the balls there ever were, this is the one you should not drop. It's not a question of choice.

But my mother and father were married when my mom was 20 and my dad was 24.

In Hawaii, some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley.