Cee Lo Green says he would "probably get shot" if he returned to where he grew up.

The American singer was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and lived there throughout his younger years. He witnessed a lot of violence as a young man, admitting he's had a gun aimed at him many times.

It's made him feel wary and the 37-year-old star owns many firearms to help him feel safe.

"Oh, I definitely have a few guns, yeah I'm all about self-preservation. One for the car, one for the home, another for the wife and kids well, the ex-wife and kids. She took a few of the weapons with her. Have I ever been shot at? Yes. Shot at, but never shot," he told the January edition of Q magazine.

"I come from an environment where it's very common, shootings and violence. What's uncommon is you don't become a product of it. It hasn't happened for a while but if I went back there at home, in the neighbourhood I could probably get shot at today! I'm pretty sure I could get shot at just as soon as I pulled up! It doesn't even have to be a certain hour of day anymore. These care are on some broad daylight, random senseless sh*t now. It's terrible. It's not like when I was growing up. There was honour among thieves then."

Cee Lo prefers not to dwell on the more difficult aspects of his life.

He believes his experiences have shaped him and helped him grow into a successful artist.

The star went on to discuss his collection of body art, many of which he got when he was younger. The star says his back tattoos were the most painful and one of them still needs to be finished.

"There was a time when I wanted to get my entire face done, just get something really wild. I saw a guy recently and he had all solid black from the brow, down the middle of the nose, around the eyes and to the sides it looked like a Roman fighting helmet," Cee Lo enthused. "It was so awesome! That is a commitment and it's a way to say I can truly take the pain it's quite a statement."