For the future, be true to yourself. If you're gonna be influenced by someone be influenced by them. Don't cop them so much that you're a clone. No one wants to deal with a clone. There's not that much more substance in being a clone, but definitely be influenced by people...take what you can from that and sculpt it into your own situation. In doing so, you'll be happy and I think your people will be happy listening to what you do.

Hip-hop was the culture that I grew up with; I am part of this culture.

That's always been the process of our music, in a sense, keeping it simple, not being so heavy that you are beating people over the head, it's just weighted down and it's like, "oohhh I can't relate." People are able to relate because we talked about things that everyone has experienced, it doesn't matter your race or genre. Music was your mainstay. There was something in our element of music that connected.

I am the ambassador to the world. I use music to talk to the world - to try to unite masses. To try to spark conversations. To try and evoke legislation to change that'll really be for the people. That's behind-the-scenes kind of thing for me. And that's what the music is for me.

I think that any story that intends on being culturally authentic and true to life experiences will be a great story. Even if that culture isn't a hip-hop-centric one.

Take emceeing, one of the foundations of hip-hop culture. A guy grabs a mic, steps up on stage and becomes a spokesman; the voice of the people. If anything, that might be the strongest similarity between hip-hop and comic books, with super heroes, like many rappers, fighting to make a change.

For the future, be true to yourself. If you're gonna be influenced by someone be influenced by them. Don't cop them so much that you're a clone. No one wants to deal with a clone. There's not that much more substance in being a clone, but definitely be influenced by people...take what you can from that and sculpt it into your own situation. In doing so, you'll be happy and I think your people will be happy listening to what you do.