As a boy and a young man I didn't think a lot. I reacted on instinct. I thought I was smart and I acted smart but my brain wasn't really turned on all the way all the time.

On days I didn't have enough money to buy beer I would stand around my buddies who smoked marijuana and get a free high. Marijuana gave me a sense of patience and calmed my anger. I believe it also jump-started my thinking cap.

For instance, I was in the hood in South Central Los Angeles trying to sell CDs at swap meets, pager shops and different hotspots. People were poor and foot traffic was slow. I smoked a joint in between customers, thinking of a way to sell more CDs faster.

I said to myself, you need a place where people will gamble on your music. After I thought about it, I came up with Las Vegas. There, people like gambling on crap tables so maybe they will gamble on my music. So I went to Las Vegas and sold a thousand CDs for five bucks and made five grand in a weekend.

I started playing chess and calculating moves to win. I developed a natural curiosity for education that I didn't have in high school and junior high or elementary. When I got high I would want to watch something educational as opposed to entertaining. I pondered on anything worth pondering on. Marijuana really helped me notice small details and helped me creatively. I was able to add that creativity to my songs.