When someone you know passes on, the only thing you can do is keep moving forward.

Every day of my life I walk with the idea I am black no matter how successful I am.

I didn't elect [Barack] Obama because he's a black; I voted for Obama because he was the right person at the time.

Im a child of the Civil Rights Movement.

I'm not so vain as to believe that my involvement changes anything whatsoever.

Popular literature and culture used to reflect people's aspirations, pain, and passion. All those particular things are no longer available to us.

Remember, we're talking [in The Black Power Mixtape] about 1967, the year before [Martin Luther] King's assassination. We're talking about the emergence of black power, which is a discussion King mentioned in his last book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? We're talking about the meaning of black power and the possibility that it alienated our supporters, both white and black.