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

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?"

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.

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

New York City gritty committee pity the fool that act shitty in the midst of the calm, the witty.

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.