Before rap came along, I was, actually, actively in the streets; getting in trouble, doing the wrong thing.

I didn't really realize how big I was 'til I started to tour, because being in your own neighborhood, people don't actually give you full props.

I'm competitive in that I would like to outsell my last record.

It's like they want to shut rappers down. They want to silence us. The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer.

Dealing with the old school rappers, you see a lot of humility. When you're new, nothing is wrong. Everything is tight. Because you're trying to hype the world into believing in you.

I'm a far cry from politically correct, because I don't really care what the political views are. I don't care what the people say. I'll say my opinion. That will always make you controversial.

Rapping is a vocal delivery, so you can do it without being part of hip-hop and not knowing what hip-hop is about.