I felt that it was my mission to see to it that black talent had an opportunity to get national television exposure.

I did one television interview I remember, and I just knew that there would be an opportunity there, ... It was pretty clear that they felt, 'Here is a black man who can talk, so why don't we take advantage of it?'

One motivation for the 'Soul Train' awards was the grumbling that all of us in the industry have heard about the way black music tends to be viewed as a secondary phenomenon by the other awards shows.

I always felt a love for music, but I never got my nerve up enough to try a musical instrument in school.

I think the guy's political views are off-the-wall, but he is an undeniably brilliant television talent. He exudes authenticity. You can disagree with him, as I do, about almost every thought he has but recognize that Sean is truly somebody who believes in something.

I recognized that I had a window of opportunity that had opened because of my exposure as an actor.