I don't hate any sort of music but I just think that the lyricism needs to be in the forefront.

Back in the days the great emcees made singles, had great shows, won battles, had all the girls and dressed fly. That¹s what I'm about...the total package emcees.

I'm really, really, really, really conservative with money. I got to give myself a lot of excuses to spend money, because I come from nothin'.

I've always been able to write rhymes and that would be like when you consult with your girl. When I'm mad and s - t like that I would throw headphones on and close my room door, when I'm mad I just close the door with my girl and f - k her. In so many different ways hip-hop has been like my girl and it's always been there to hold me down.

Hip-hop definitely saved my life. Being able to write about the things I was doing, the things I was seein' and all that stuff, putting that on paper and coming into my own as Joell Ortiz. That's why I don't have a stage name, because I chose to talk about everything under the sun that happened to me or next to me in my music.

I don't hate any sort of music but I just think that the lyricism needs to be in the forefront.

You can have a phenomenal booth artist and he can get in there and be a technician in the booth and it won't translate on the stage. I think that's what makes emcees emcees. Some rapper dudes are great rappers but it don't translate on stage.