If you want to be an artist, truly try to write what you believe, and if you write when you don't believe then you should try to become an actor.

My daughter's 19. I'm not asking her to develop as an artist. I'm just asking her to develop as a full person, human being.

A lot of artists have been persuaded into doing whatever they can do to gain attention. The media, of course, will position and promote the worst of them to the front page. The sidewalk to crime becomes the marketing campaign. These artists have seen it work and sell millions and millions of records for other artists.

I encourage more blacks and people of color to get a passport. That's one way to help put people on an equal platform.

Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding don't come out of the microwave. You got to keep moving forward because the evil doesn't sleep.

Public Enemy is the security of the hip-hop party.

What made me want to become a recording artist; I was the first artist that was repeatedly asked by a label to record with them. That label was Def Jam Records.