I was a class clown. At 12, I was definitely clowning. I was making all the jokes. But I was smart, so the teachers didn't know what to do with me.

My Mother's an actress, and she's always told me, "Boy, you're an actor." I would look forward to seeing if I'm any good. I want to be good at it, that's the only thing.

One day, I'll be listening to a bunch of Ray Charles, the next day it's nothing but Red Hot Chili Peppers. The next day it might be Tupac all day.

I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.

I'm the same kid who used to hop the trains with headphones and just go to downtown Manhattan, walk around and listen to music or walk through the city. The fame restricts that. It's a small complaint in comparison to the benefits I get from it, but the restrictive part is what I don't like - and the fact that it's not reversible.

Rhyme patterns are nothing without meanings to the words. A lot of rappers can do those flows, but the raps aren't really about anything - which is cool sometimes, but to have the flow and the message is one of my favorite things.

We got dreams and we got the right to chase 'em, Look at the nation, that's a crooked smile braces couldn't even straighten.