Coming up in the Bay Area and being African American in a city that has a history of complex issues of violent crime, interaction with the police is always intense. That's something you have to learn. My mom taught me at a young age that if ever a cop stops you, you put your hands up and freeze - don't move.
It's a lot of wonderful things about the Bay area and Oakland that I absolutely love. I wouldn't change being from there by any stretch.
I'll be a Bay kid for the rest of my life. That's in my veins; that's in my bones.
I grew up in Oakland and Berkeley, California.
A lot of people from the Bay, especially musicians, feel like northern California is not the place where everything's poppin' off and not quite on the cutting edge artistically as New York or L.A. People from the Bay feel like they have something to prove, and I always love feeling like I have something to prove.
I'm from the Bay Area.
I'm a true native of the Bay Area.
I think L.A. radio is learning from the Bay. The Bay is a very classic place. Mac Mall, C-Bo, all that stuff, they love their artists, they're old school up there. My first big concert was playing in the Bay; I played the Fillmore.
Growing up in the Bay Area, I played early on with these quartet groups who set guidelines for me. I remember the guys would all have the same clothes and shoes, like these uniforms. I was in awe.
