One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That's the American ideal. Poor people don't like talking about poverty because even though they might live in the projects surrounded by other poor people and have, like, ten dollars in the bank, they don't like to think of themselves as poor.

I'm not afraid of dying I'm afraid of not trying

Don't ever go with the flow. Be the flow.

If I was to stop making music tomorrow doesn't mean suddenly there is this gap. You don't get elected. The people decide where you are. Whether I'm here or not, if they want you to be at the top then the people will move me out the way.

A poet's mission is to make words do more work than they normally do, to make them work on more than one level.

I think Lil Wayne is extremely talented. I think he's one of the most talented ones out there.

It was a weird mix of emotions. One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike.