It mattered what someone did to allow you to have the forum to do what you're doing.

I'm doing what's in my heart at the time.

Radio makes it appear like you can get some sounds in a laptop and be the next dude. Those careers don't really last.

You've rarely got an artist that's not being chauffeured into the business by some huge-ass names.

There are situations where I'm uncomfortable saying, "I'm a hip-hop artist." In some circles, the response is like, "Oh, OK, so... you have whores and your ties are shiny?"

There's a need for pop. There's a need for radio. There's also a need to understand the brilliance and the depth of jazz and soul - and what hip-hop can be at its most brilliant and what hip-hop can be at its most simplistic.

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.