I was raised in a super-sheltered atmosphere where we didn't watch anything besides Trinity Broadcasting Network - which was called TBN - or the Fox News channel.

I was born in a very poor family. I used to sell tea in a railway coach as a child. My mother used to wash utensils and do lowly housework in the houses of others to earn a livelihood. I have seen poverty very closely. I have lived in poverty. As a child, my entire childhood was steeped in poverty. For me, poverty - in a way - was the first inspiration in my life.

I grew up in a very nice house in Houston, went to private school all my life and I've never even been to the 'hood. Not that there's anything wrong with the 'hood.

Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.

On the first day of school, my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name and said that from thenceforth that was the name we would answer to in school. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education.

I have an ugly day every month; pimples on my face, I'm fat and in a bad mood. It's more like an ugly week!