You have to use what you have in order to get what you need and the people can not be rich unless somebody is rich. The Hip-Hop generation has carried more people with it than any other enterprise Black Americans have had.

We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained.

Facts are only tools to gain control over yourself and other people.

Poets can tell the truth as they see it. It’s the author’s story, the author’s voice.

I’m a big fan of history—applying the lessons as well as the joys and sadness. If we pay attention, we would see how we affect each other. In terms of time, we are not that far from one another. If we were to look back a century, it would seem like a long time; but, if we look at it by decades then it’s only 10 years, and by generations it’s only five.

You must invent your own games and teach us old ones how to play.

Who I really am keeps surprising me.