I don't want to disappoint - that's a nightmare to me.

I talk about life, and I make universal music with an American style - and that's what I do.

You can't please everybody. You['d] be crazy if you're trying to. So take some time out to do some things for yourself.

If I made an album just to sell you a story about how I'm the man, it really doesn't show any human side to me. It's good to talk about what's real and what's relevant.

I push my own limits every day, every moment - in the studio, on the stage and beyond so it's truly a genuine fit.

When I made Illmatic, I was trying to make the perfect album. It comes from the days of Wild Style. I was trying to make you experience my life. I wanted you to look at hip-hop differently. I wanted you to feel that hip-hop was changing and becoming something more real.

My skin is an art gallery right, with paintings and crucifixes hoping to save me from all the dangers in the music business