I`m Dominican, Lebanese, Indian, Irish, Jamaican. But I hate going into that. I just say, `I`m from Queens.

You need 100% commitment; you have to be willing to wake up every morning knowing you`re going to [practice] eight hours straight.

When I go to the D.R., the press in Santo Domingo always asks, "¿Qué te consideras, dominicana o americana?" (What do you consider yourself, Dominican or American?) I don`t understand it, and it`s the same people asking the same question. So I say, time and time again, "Yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.") [They go,] "Oh, no, tú eres trigueñita." ("Oh no, you are `dark skinned`") I`m like, "No! Let`s get it straight, yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.")