Shameik Moore

“I can't assume that people see me the way I see myself. I have to show them. But I can't do it in a way where it's too much, where it's rude. I feel like when you're a king, you lead. And I just see myself as a king, or as something more than just a regular human being.”

“I was the one that was always dancing and got along with everybody, but I also spoke my mind. If I didn't agree with something the teacher would say, I'd tell her, so I would get in trouble for things like that. I've always been a good/bad boy.”

“I'm living on this positive mind frame where I'm only attracting positive things. I'm controlling my energy, I'm eating right, I'm meditating, I'm in the gym, I'm doing all this stuff I'm supposed to be doing. I'm past that young, immature way of thinking. I just want to be great.”

“Music was always heavily involved with my spirit. My entire family is Jamaican. It's nothing but reggae music and those kinds of vibes.”

“When I was 12, my dad took me to see 'You Got Served.' I walked out a whole different person.”

“My lyrics are for strong, independent women who are both smart and fashionable.”

“Everything about the movie 'Dope' is real artistry, and everybody put their full hearts and souls into it. It's a passion project; it's not one of those things everybody got paid a million dollars to do. Everybody on there wanted to do it. Everybody there believed in the project, and we just went for it. We all love each other.”

“I record myself talking. I have a journal. And when I listen back, I remember why I wanted certain things. I listen to me at 16, saying 'I really wanna be on TV... I want a movie, a huge movie...' and I'm just like, 'Yo, I'm humbled. I'm living a life I imagined.'”

“I think it speaks to people in 2015, right now. We address real situations. It's real life! Everything that happens in 'Dope' could happen today.”

“Musically, I have my project, '30058.' It's seven songs, like an EP or mixtape, but I call it a soundtrack because I feel like my life is a movie, and all the songs are moments in my life.”

“My whole thing is I want to affect history in a positive way. I want the timeline to be, 100 years from now, when we look back, it's going to be like, the world was like this, and then Shameik Moore hit the world, and everything changed for the better. It was a new light. Something special.”

“I have the most respect for Rick. You're always going to see a Shameik Moore and Rick Famuyiwa film.”

“I keep my head up. I'm comfortable in my skin. I want to see progression in life, with myself and with others around me.”

“Pharrell is a person who has influenced the world. I see myself in him, so I said, 'You're an alpha, and I'm an alpha, and I want to be able to express myself in every way, like you do.'”

“The feeling of the early '90s... I think it was more... It was real. It was gutter. It was more entertaining.”

“As I'm starting to grow up, and things are happening, I'm going to have to take off my pants, and I want to have on some attractive underwear. When it says Versace on your underwear, people will say, 'Man, he's fresh to his undies.'”

“Every morning, I wake up and think about 10 different things I'm thankful for, and I continue to spread that love throughout the day, always visualizing, meditating, and growing.”

“In middle school, I saw Chris Brown live, and I thought, 'I can do that.' And these girls are screaming for him.”

“All these interviews I'm doing - this is the kind of stuff that I was dreaming about doing when I was younger. I was praying for people to want to write about me. I wanted people to hear my music. I wanted to perform. I wanted to be on billboards.”

“When I went to auditions, if I didn't know the lines, I wasn't getting the job. If I knew my lines, if I knew what I was supposed to be doing, I got the job. And it was always like that - if I'm working hard, I get the result that I'm looking for.”