Hip-Hop went from selling crack to smoking it

To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as rhyming.

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.

I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it.

I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I've been going by Yasiin since '99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now I'm declaring it openly.

You want to know how to rhyme, then learn how to add. It's mathematics.

I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman.