Hip-hop is not the problem, our reality is the problem.

[Drizzy] reached out to me through Chase N Cashe, they're brothers, they're one. Chase N Cashe made the connection, played some of my music and he [Drake] got up on it, got interested in the music and just reached out and said "You know what, let's work."

The times that we are in, it's something that you can only feel in the air. You don't even have to talk about it. You don't need the news or the Internet to watch it. You can walk outside and just feel it.

I cut off my ears before i hear your advice and vice versa

I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs

At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to do that, to stand out. Now I'll talk about being beaten up or robbed or making a stupid decision because of a girl or whatever.

Music was just played all around me, and I couldn't run from it. My pops, he never learned to sing, but he'd have his little drink on the side, and he'd put on the best of his hits - gangster rap or oldies - and he'd sing all day on his mic plugged up to the wall set-up. It's a trip. I've just seen that my whole life, so I've always just had a love for music. By the time I was 13, I really just jumped in it. And it's something I took on to have as a hobby.