Its called a playground, but its nearer to a battlefield. It can be brutal

I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police.

When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.

Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.

I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous.

If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.

You've got the sun, you've got the moon, and you've got the Rolling Stones.

If you've gotta think about being cool, you ain't cool.

True friends. Hardest thing to find, but you never look for them - they found you ; you just grow into each other

Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.

You don't find a style. A style finds you

Have an intrinsic sense of direction of life. Have a goal-oriented conviction and trust.

The difficulty with Poe is not figuring out which of his stories rise to the level required of this collection, but rather which of his stories to exclude from it.

If your vision inspires others to see their dreams and your actions motivate them to realize it, then you are a leader.

Our success in life should be measured by the level of change you impart on the lives of the needy not by the amount of wealth you acquire”.

A writer is unfair to himself when he is unable to be hard on himself.

The climate in the '50s and '60s for black performers or black people in the entertainment business was atrocious. It was atrocious.

We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.

Britney painted her finger nails and it really seemed like they had a blast.

Zen has no secrets other than seriously thinking about life and death.