The battle thing is very important in hip-hop, but at the same time, I want to sit down and have a beer and listen to Rakim.

If you holding up the wall then you missing the point

You feel pressured to do what you think the public wants, when in actuality the sales aren't reflecting what the radio is doing. Not in the least bit!

When new artists come out and they're not being cosigned or some company doesn't have a stake in it, or someone's not getting paid under the table to produce the whole record or bring it to video, the artist really suffers.

I mostly write to music, even though I know I sound free-form a lot. Then there are times when I'll have a concept and hold on to it until I come across the right music that makes a marriage.

Man, I would demand that artist come to the table with better variety. I would demand that musicians know music history, not just Hip-Hop, so that we could understand. The better your 'listening ear' is, the better your music will be.

Kids don't even realize what they're up against.