Q: Your new album, So Proud, features a childhood picture of you on the cover. As a kid, what was your favorite cereal?
A: It was a tie between Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks.

Q: Why?
A: That's what they kept buying!

Q: Did you play any sports?
A: I played baseball and a lot of recreational basketball and football, but nothing organized. The last time I made a basketball team was in the 6th grade. After that, I didn't make it on the team.

Q: But aren’t you tall? How tall are you?
A: Six-two and a half. I still play on a regular basis, but I don't think I'm a great basketball player. I just love to play.

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
A: I don't like to be manipulated, or feeling like people are trying to get me to do something that I wouldn’t do if I had all of the information. Too deep? (chuckles)

Q: What would your wife say is your most endearing quality?
A: That I'm going to tell the truth – she can trust me. She recently told me that I'm very good at speaking from the heart when given the opportunity to do so. It’s like "when I hear you speak from your heart, I believe you."

Q: In honor of Black History Month, tell me about some of the shoulders – in music, in ministry or in life – that you stand upon.
A: I stand upon the shoulders of my Mom and Dad. People don't know who they are, but that's all the more reason they should be celebrated. Their incentive wasn't to be well known, or have some article written about them. They were given a family to take care of, and they did it to best of their ability.

My Dad moved from Georgia to Chicago at the age of 16, when he took a job as a dish washer. He later became head custodian in the school district; he was over eight schools and he took care of the family. A janitor's salary in Chicago was meager, but he still made it happen. He’s a big inspiration to me, knowing what he had to endure to take care of our family, because now I have a family of my own.