I always knew that I had to direct. That was something I'd wanted to do. Finally, I was just looking at the situation and I said, "I wanna document hip-hop, as an art form, seeing how a lot of people don't take it seriously."

Half the rhymes you write, you're saying that you're better than the other MC. That's how we keep the craft sharp.

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

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 look at my career and I feel I have the potential to maybe mature into a Samuel Jackson-type older cat, and people will still respect me and say 'Yo, Ice-T was wild', into my old age. And why not? I don't necessarily think I'll be rapping in 10 years.

You can't come out on a record dissing the system and be on a label that's connected to the system.

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.