We'll only be playing four new songs live, but all the material for the next album is basically finished.
I know a lot of mainstream hip-hop people, have been listening to things like Aphex Twin for years. When somebody first played me some of that album, I was just like, "Woah!"
My message behind this album was finding the beauty in imperfection.
I just realized how long it was since the last album, and where did the time go? You know?
I tour whether I have album out or not. I tour more than any other hip-hop artist.
After the Ed Sullivan Show, Feb. 9, 1964, at approx. 8:04pm [laughs], after that moment every album, every guitar, evey set of drums that was ever sold. . . 10% should have gone right into their pocket!
I have complete artistic control, and I just do my best album every time and trust it to fate.
I'm a really visual artist, and I love writing treatments for music videos, photo shoots, fashion, and all the visual parts that go along with making an album.
I'm a very open and loving person. My whole thing has been "let love rule" since my first album. I'm about unity and peace and God.
I only put an album out every two or three years.
A dream collage is pictures of your goals. It is like your future photo album.
But when I started writing songs, I stopped painting completely, and the only art things I do are connected to the career, like album sleeves and, to some extent, posters and things like that.
I once lost five years listening to a Pink Floyd album.
You should check out William Shatner's album The Transformed Man. It will alter the way you hear poetry forever. And not in a good way.
That was an idea of the record company, and also that was my first album after MCA and we wanted to come back with a strong album that would be noticed. If we put the vocals by very talented people and very meaningful songs, then the vocals would be a platform so that I could be noticed again. All of the MCA albums were just loaded with problems -- you know, the right musicians, the engineers. The record company would say 'You have to make music for black radio, you can't do what you have been doing with The Crusaders. ' Everybody was telling me that was over, finished, done.
The second 'Postal Service' album is threatening to become the 'Chinese Democracy' of indie rock. It will come out eventually, or maybe it won't.
When you're on your fifth album, you are going to be judged against all your previous work and expectations.
I grew up in the era of the concept album. What I do now is pick up on singles, and they are their own complete stories; you don't necessarily have to hear the rest of the album because I don't think albums are created like that anymore. They get songs from all over the place.
If I have a hit, then I hope the people who like the hit song go out and buy my album so they can hear it all.
My path is exactly where I want it to be. I'm doing my thing. I'm getting better with every album.