Nick Cannon thinks coexisting is as easy as loving chicken

Entertainment mogul Nick Cannon appeared on BUILD Series this week to discuss his new single, "Hold On." The single is the result of studying Eastern Philosophy and the rise of Caribbean Pop, a trend Cannon noticed in his role as a DJ.

A new song is far from a summation of what he's up to. In a recent interview with AOL Entertainment, Heidi Klum dished "Nick and I also just worked on a special project that I can't tell you about quite yet." Mr. Cannon is currently enrolled at Howard University. His role as a student means his to-do list includes writing two scripts, writing a couple of books, doing his homework and studying for term papers.

Nick Cannon knows the value of comedy. In his role as an executive at Nickelodeon, Mr. Cannon is developing a show featuring "comedians, sketches and music" powered by young people. No, it is not a revival of "All That." Nick credits hanging around the comedy community for his thick skin. "I don't care what people think," Canon said with confidence. "I was dressing in drag on Nickelodeon when I was a teenager. I grew up with the funniest of the funny, opening up for Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker when I was a teenager. I've heard every joke. You've gotta have a thick skin with those type of dudes."

Mr. Cannon lives to "give other people opportunities and shed light." It is no surprise he is an ambassador for anti-bullying, through which he hopes to help others achieve skin as thick as his. Cannon believes, "it's not about getting rid of the bullies. it's about building yourself up. [There's] always gonna be bullies. We see that in our political system. We see that globally." His approach to dealing with haters comes from within. "You can build yourself up and build your own self-esteem up and know that no matter what type of adversity you face that the strength is within you and that you truly have the power to overcome anything. That's what it's all about. That's what we gotta teach."

Cannon's approach to coexistence requires we let go of our need to compete. "The idea that one culture is better than the another or one belief system is more powerful than the other, we got to let all of that go. Every God is amazing. Every form of prayer is amazing. Every study is..it's like different foods. I love curry chicken, but I also love fried chicken. Why can't we embrace and have both?"

Mr. Cannon strives to relay the message "every culture is amazing" through his art. "There's only one race. That's the human race," he said. "What we can't deny is that we have different cultures and that we are different. I think for years, people have been afraid to talk about differences. It's a thing. We're ignorant to what other cultures are. Therefore, we start to fear it... we start to hate it. If we get rid of the fear and the hate and embrace the differences, we can all coexist."

Mr. Cannon aspires to collaborate with Bruno Mars and Andre 3000. He hopes to someday travel to Mars.