My theory is that nine times out of ten, if there's a depression, more a social depression than anything, it brings out the best art in black people. The best example is, Reagan and Bush gave us the best years of hiphop.

When you live your life through records, the records are a record of your life.

Music has the power to stop time. But music also keeps time.

At the end of the day, I don't release any records that I'm not proud to put my name on. I never got to that point.

I don't think crack happened by accident. I'm part conspiracy theorist, because you can't develop something that dangerous and have it not be planned.

I hear a lot of cries of socialism and certainly real disguises of "Why should I share my money with these people?" We have to get back to "we." It's important to get back to "we" not just "I."

Hip-hop is such a disposable art form from a business standpoint. It never treats its artists as art; it never treats its product as art.