Don't look down, it's an impossible view; Fly like an eagle whatever you do.

I don't care about what brand you are, I'm concerned what type of man you are, what your principles and standards are.

I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There's not a lot of regard for the property by the residents.

I ain't no perfect man I'm tryna do the best that I can with what it is I have.

I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.

There was a time when hip-hop was its own musical principle, aside from sampling. Like the entire Wild Style break is instrumental. Kurtis Blow's earliest stuff was studio musicians playing. Whodini had a real clear sound, things like "five minutes of funk," stuff that you could write really beautiful, lush string and horn arrangements around, stuff that was just music.

They say that when a man faces his destiny, the destiny ends and he becomes the man that he really is.