My brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment.

I'm a hustler, baby; I sell water to a well!

You could name practically any problem in the hood and there'd be a rap song for you.

I'm hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter.

I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop. It was a release, a mental exercise, a way of keeping sane.

As kids we didn't complain about being poor; we talked about how rich we were going to be and made moves to get the lifestyle we aspired to by any means we could. And as soon as we had a little money, we were eager to show it.

I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman because when I was trying to get a record deal, it was so hard to get a record deal on my own that it was either give up or create my own company.