My real name's Rakim - my parents named me after the god MC himself.

There's just so much out there and so much inspiration... I just want to be tasteful.

I'm not glorifying it at all, I'm just basically telling you that sometimes I have suicidal thoughts. And maybe I should seek help, or maybe it's not that deep.

I hate the hype. When 50 Cent came out, people were saying that he was the best rapper alive: "Oh, he got shot nine times, he's better than Tupac, he's better than Biggie." That was all hype.

When Big Meech and everybody got indicted, hustling died. Keep it trill.

In Harlem, I got all my black friends. But when I go downtown, I got black, white, Asian, Indian friends. There's no borders, no barriers.

I don't cook, 'cause I don't know how to cook.