'Unbreakable Smile' was based off one of the songs I wrote for the album - it was actually the first song I wrote for the album without realizing it yet. I think I wanted to name the album that because it seemed like that was just the theme of that chapter in my life and just the theme of all the songs put together.
When someone is buying a sample-based album, they are investing in the concept of that album. If they really like the original source material, they can go buy it.
My first album was hip-hop influenced, and my second was more of a singer-songwriter album.
The whole music business in the United States is based on numbers, based on unit sales and not on quality. It's not based on beauty, it's based on hype and it's based on cocaine. It's based on giving presents of large packages of dollars to play records on the air.
I'm gonna stay an album guy. In fact, concept albums are really blowing my mind right now, because if you want to promote an album, think about it - a concept album might be the way to go.
With this new album, I prepared for it a long time, and I was happy with the songs and the production. I felt that I proved myself with the first album, and with this new album, I just want to share some of my music. And that was always my feeling and my intention.
I've been through a lot, both personally and professionally, and the album that I started to record two and a half years ago is a different album from the one that exists today. I even changed the album title. First it was 'All I Want is Everything,' and now it's 'Jumping Trains.'
A good rapper is a good rapper, a good album is a good album. I don't think anyone is inherently good.
Our career was based on energy and putting out a hot album.
I always wanted to make an album, but I knew that I didn't want it to be a musical theater album. It's not that I don't love them - I own every musical theater album ever made - but it just didn't seem right for me.
So we are not doing the traditional album, tour, album, tour, album, tour anymore. We're going to tour when we want to, regardless of whether we've got a record out.
We had to create an album where there wasn't one. I never listen to that album [ Music From the Edge of Heaven] because it wasn't an album.
The first album I was given when I was quite young was the 'Whoa, Nelly!' album by Nelly Furtado. After, I also got the 'Missundaztood' album by Pink. That's when I was like, 'Oh my God, I want to be just like them!'
I always loved bands who would try to change their sound radically album to album, experiment in one album and revert back in another.
We all have inherited so many types of fears, whether they're race-based, culture-based, gender-based, age-based, family-based. And then we get comfortable with these fears.
What we have in the Bush team is a faith-based administration. It launched a faith-based war in Iraq, on the basis of faith-based intelligence, with a faith-based plan for Iraqi reconstruction, supported by faith-based tax cuts to generate faith-based revenues.