“A lot of times, us within the industry, we can put this bubble around ourselves and create what a show is supposed to look like and sound like, and we're seeing so much content. The best compliment is, 'I finally found something to watch with my family,' or, 'This is how I really feel, and I can't believe they're showing this on television.'”

“As a standup performer, I'm onstage, and it's important how the audience is looking at me. I'm looking at whether they're leaning forward or not, those types of things. You read an energy. And it's the same thing in a scene with other actors.”

“As an artist, the most important thing and the most special thing is when your intention shines through on the work.”

“Being very, very honest, I've watched more Bill Clinton speeches than stand-up specials. Steve Jobs commencements. They're just great orators. I love people who boldly share their point of view.”

“Eddie Murphy did '48 Hrs.' because that was the only movie offered to him. And he killed it. Bill Cosby did 'I Spy' because that was the TV show he was offered. But now, there are networks dedicated to comedy, and the Internet... it's so easy for comedians to not do things that aren't true to them.”

“I didn't choose to like Chik-Fil-A - I was born this way.”

“I don't like the idea of being a human being, existing, talking to my friends, and having these real human conversations, and then getting to work on a sitcom and turning that part of my brain off.”

“I grew up in what my mom will always dispute as 'the hood.' She just doesn't like the name. But it had its similarities to any neighborhood like that. The all-black neighbors and the all-black problems and the all-black happiness. And I really loved it.”

“I have this theory that I hold on to, the theory that everything great in art and in life in general is jazz. It's just like all these things that just kind of seem to fall into place. You know, like mistakes that somehow turn into something beautiful.”

“I knew I wanted to do a show on NBC - it's rooted in its history; it's part rooted in nostalgia and part rooted in the potential of it. For me, there was no other choice.”

“I look at Seinfeld - he looks like he's having fun. He's just enjoying being Jerry Seinfeld, you know, on 'Seinfeld.'”

“I think people respond to truth. 'Straight Outta Compton' made USD60 million over the weekend, right? That's not just a black audience. 'Empire' grew every single week. That's not just a black audience. Black culture is American culture, you know what I mean? They're becoming more and more one in the same.”

“I think there's a responsibility more as an artist to try and push in the direction you think comedy should go... The biggest thing I could do for the art that I love was keeping it art: keeping it special, keeping it honest, keeping it truthful.”

“I use a note-taking system I learned in history class in eleventh grade.”

“I want that Sinatra type of fame. It's not the 'Whoever's the hot pop star at the moment' fame. It's the 'Walk into a room and everybody just kind of politely nods their heads' fame. Sinatra fame.”

“I work by instinct. You never hear anything new; when you hear advice that makes sense, it's something you already know.”

“If you've ever liked an artist or someone who then does something or is accused of something extremely corrupt, and your moral conscience won't allow you to accept that artist, the truth is then that creates a void in your life. Because then something you loved was taken from you.”

“I'm inspired by people who are unapologetically themselves, from Bill Cosby to Fahim Anwar. Just funny people.”

“I've laughed hysterically, just trying to hold it in, at every funeral I've been to, because everyone's so serious. And there are a lot of people speaking publicly, which makes you understand why it's people's number one fear - because everyone shouldn't do it.”

“L.A.'s pretty great, man. But I'll be very honest - I prefer New York. It's more my speed.”

“Performing for Dick Van Dyke once was fun.”

“The biggest thing that I get most excited about is, my family and I would watch television together, and we weren't just passive viewers. Something would happen, and then we would talk about it. When Will Smith was shot on 'Fresh Prince,' that sparked a conversation about safety.”

“To say it very honestly, removed from ego, standup is just a thing that I understood, a God-given ability.”

“When you see U2 or the Rolling Stones, after years of knowing each other, they don't have to look at each other to connect.”

“When you're onstage in theater, if you mess up a line, there's no 'Cut! We'll get it again.' It's full steam ahead.”

“You know, 'Cheers,' you didn't have to leave the bar because what they were saying in the bar was important. 'All In The Family' is the same rule. On 'The Golden Girls' they didn't have to leave the table. And 'Friends' - the coffee shop. You can contain it if it's interesting.”