I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.

It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people.

Every time you ask yourself where hip-hop's going, ask yourself where you're going; how are you doing?

I like to read the 'Financial Times' when I'm traveling. 'Economist.' 'Ad Busters.'

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

If it's just fame for the sake of being famous, no one even cares about you - and you don't even care about yourself because you're like, "This is so ridiculous."

I'm blacked than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle