Ariel Rechtshaid

I was never in the business of trying to put my name out there - I was really focused on music and records and being in the studio.

Hip-hop has never had boundaries - the more adventurous it is, the more popular it seems to be.

I'm still an idealist. My manager is always trying to talk me out of it, but that's just the way I am.

I just had an idea that went right over my head.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

If I think about the way I was drawn into the music, it was much more by recordings than by live performances.