Both my parents came with their parents during the revolution in Cuba. Both my parents were born in Cuba. They left everything over there. My family got stripped of everything - of their land, of their jobs, everything.
My parents were hardworking. They made every penny stretch as far as possible. That was probably the major reason everything they gave me was always two or three sizes too large.
I was fascinated by my parents as I would visit them on the sets. Since we were a nuclear family I always accompanied my parents to their shoots and I liked the atmosphere there.
No doubt, my parents were hardworking, you know, middle class. My father, when my sister and I were younger, he was a parking attendant at the old Dunes Hotel and Casino. My mother was a bookkeeper in a title company.
Some parents were awful back then and are awful still. The process of raising you didn't turn them into grown-ups. Parents who were clearly imperfect can be helpful to you. As you were trying to grow up despite their fumbling efforts, you had to develop skills and tolerances other kids missed out on. Some of the strongest people I know grew up taking care of inept, invalid, or psychotic parents--but they know the parents weren't normal, healthy, or whole.
My parents - my mother, particularly - were very focused on our succeeding. I loved my parents, and was very grateful to them for everything, and I didn't want to disappoint them.
My parents were involved in everything I did. They were showbiz people themselves. My dad was an actor. They were parents; they did what parents are supposed to do.
Sibling rivalry was, and still is to this day, rampant in my family. We were all competing for my parents' divided attention.
I have a dream of re-creating the fantastic family I grew up in with my brother and my parents. I am lucky that I have such a good image of family life - my father and mother are still in love, still happy.
I wanted the next family to hurt, because you made my family hurt. Them emotions were still running in me... Whether I'm a rap star or not, if I still feel like that, then I'm part of the problem rather than the solution.
Our ages ranged from 22, down to 18, and we had a 6 month contract to go to Bogata, Columbia. And of course, it was during the depression, we were still with our parents, and things were still pretty tough on them back in the United States.
You discover two things when you're a teenager. One, that your parents are not the idols that you thought they were when you were growing up, if you had nice parents. And two, that you have power over them, and you can upset them and confront them and attack them.
We were the only black family in my neighborhood for many years. Wherever we lived, we were often the only black family, and certainly the only Haitian family. But my parents were really great at providing a loving home where we could feel safe and secure.
Using the Africanist model, each generation should take the family name to a higher place. My father's folks were sharecroppers in South Carolina. He went to Harlem. They were still poor, but they moved up. If my parents didn't do this and offer me this background, I wouldn't be here.
My parents were pretty liberal, but they were still parents. I definitely had my teenage rebellion.
Everything I do is for my parents and my family. The car is nice, the house is nice, but none of this matters without them. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. I don't know where I would be, honestly.