I Was Really Fortunate Growing Up To

I Didn't Appreciate Mick Jagger Until I Got Older, And Mainly Because Of The Mick Jagger Swagger. He Defined That For The World. He Was Bold And Adventurous With It, Too - Just The Ultimate Rock Star.

My Grandma Ricky - That's Where I Got Classic Look From. She Was The Most Stylish Person Ever. She Had Her Own Clothing Store And Even Her Furniture Was Stylish. I Got My "flashy, But Classy" Motto From Her, Too. Whenever She Walked In The Room, She Was Always The Most Stylish Person In The Room.

Hip-hop Was My First Real Love, One That Was My Own And Wasn't My Parents' Music. Initially, I Was Inspired By Hip-hop Fashion. Over The Years, I Kept The Hip-hop Sensibility, But Make It My Own.

I Make Soul Music For Hip-hop Heads. It's Music I'd Want To Sample If I Were A Rapper.

I Grew Up In Ann Arbor, About 25 Miles West Of Detroit. And When You Grow Up In That Area, You Get A Healthy Dose Of Motown Automatically.