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" I'm letting inspiration move me, in whatever direction it may, without concern if this sounds too rap or too indie, or there's too many words in it. "

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" I think, on the rap side of life, I've always been inspired by and respected Missy Elliott for a long time. She's funny and created an image for herself that was non-sexualized but was really interesting and really cool and really kind of avant-garde in a lot of ways. "

" I studied psychology and sociology. I think my assumption was that I would go to graduate school, and I don't know what I was going to do after that. "

" A college degree is not essential, but if you're already in college, and if it's at all possible, you should definitely try to finish. In college, you have a very supportive community right there, and it can give you opportunities to try out new things. "

" I was thinking about how we're so in touch with our image now. That conception of ourselves, in a very physical sense, can be oppressive. You find people wanting to be in dark places, not really see themselves, see themselves as a filtered image. A curated image. "

" Hip-hop is rich in musical allusion. It takes something that already existed, respects it, and reuses it. "

" I know that in my own mind, I struggle with a desire to be both entirely absent and entirely present in any given moment. "

" When I was growing up, I wasn't in bands, and had really no intention of ever doing music. I went out to California for college, and kind of on a whim started making music really as a joke, and over the course of the next five years started playing a lot of shows, and music became this really integral part of my identity. "

" I think it's more important than ever to be as vocal as I can be about things I believe in outside of music. "

" I write songs as honestly as I can without worrying about genres or labels. Sometimes I sing, and sometimes I rap, and sometimes I do something in between. I jump around on stage and don't care too much about how I look. I try to be myself even though I'm still figuring myself out. "

" Mainly, I hope to inspire honesty. We live in a space where so much can be manipulated, and so much is expected to be manipulated - curated, contrived, edited. I think that's a real detriment to self expression and happiness in a lot of ways. In my mind, honesty and vulnerability is the way forward. "

" There are people who are profoundly mentally ill. But we now have a very weird perspective on mental illness and what it means. I do think that people are overmedicated. "

" The more I talk to people who are at a place I'd like to be at, whether its music or writing, or being a doctor or entrepreneur, sometimes you get lucky, and right away something happens. But for most people, the common denominator of success is just working really hard. "

" I feel like, for me, different environments are very important to me creatively. I think it's my norm to be on the move. "

" 'Life as a Dog' is when I really started to feel comfortable, like I had the due north on my compass. "

" I think, no matter what, when you're writing songs, most people write about the extremes of their experiences. "

" I don't put a ton of time into my on-stage style, largely because I'm dumb about clothes. But I have friends who are very smart about clothes, and they teach me things. For the show, I'm mainly concerned with feeling comfortable, being able to jump around and get wild. "

" I was totally sober in college and really, really focused. I just took the time when other people might be partying and just made music and played at the party instead. "

" It's like there's this boldness that I have where I'm driven by something that I can't name. "

" I'm intrigued by people who are super adept at manipulating their own image. We all do it to a certain extent. "

" Feeling anxious or depressed sometimes is part of what it means to be a person, and it might even be essential to success. "

" I'm a big advocate of revisions, of living with something for a month and then realizing what needs changing, what was lazy, what could be better. "

" A good sign for me, that I'm a good spot mentally, is when I'm super prolific. And I just wake up every day excited to make or replicate music in some way. That's really nice. "

" The more time passes in your life, I think the greater you understand perspective. So I'm happy that I've had experiences that have reminded me that most exciting things might not feel so exciting later, and the most disappointing things might not be so disappointing later, either. "

" When I first signed to RCA, I was sort of excited and shocked that it was happening. But over the next couple of years, it really started to feel like that game you play when you're a little kid - the one where you put your nose on a bat and then spin around and try to walk. "

" My default is e-40 because there's no one else in the world who raps like him. I've always loved e-40. "

" There's only so many variations on the basics of human relationships. To me, it's all about the detail and how you tell the story. How you say, 'I love you.' "

" What's become a big theme in my music is my dad as a narrative character. I never had the opportunity to understand our relationship in a more adult capacity. The unknown is great material for any creative outlet. "

" A friend of mine encouraged me to try rapping, so I started experimenting with it, writing verses, seeing if I could fit an extra word or syllable into each line without tripping myself up. "

" I think a part of me thought that I might be interested in academia because I really do love school. I mean that on all levels - I like educational environments; I like being part of that community of learning and exploration. And I like to talk. "

" Pre-show, I warm up my voice, stretch, do a little team huddle, and sometimes throw a shot of whiskey in there, too. After the show, I hang out at merch meeting people and signing things. After that, I usually try to see friends in whatever city we're in, or if I'm super beat, listen to a podcast and pass out. "