Two things happened. The creative side of my career was harmed. When I'd sit down and write under the influence of coke, the ratio of pages kept to pages thrown out declined drastically. But onstage, when rapping about a feeling I already owned, I would sometimes get a burst of eloquence.

In terms of coke, the only money I ever thought about was that dollar bill I had stuck up my nose.

There are only two places in the world: over here and over there.

The Golden Gate Bridge should have a long bungee cord for people who aren't quite ready to commit suicide but want to get in a little practice.

In adolescence you have to separate yourself and establish your identity. So, being very independent anyway, I took charge.

It's the American view that everything has to keep climbing: productivity, profits, even comedy.

Anyone who's onstage is going to attract a certain number of misguided people. But I was never very interested in groupies. Instead of thinking about the sex, I'd always think about the clap and the crabs those people have.