Working with the artist elite can be like banging your head against the wall.

During the 2008 election, I made clear to the Obama campaign that I don't think it's wise for me to force my personal political agenda on anyone.

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.

It's a funny word, persistence. It means not giving up, but it also means just passing on through time.

I was born at a very crucial time. I consider 1968 to be the Mason Dixon line between pre- and post-civil rights generation ideas, whereas a lot of people born before '68 they kind of went into that Moses mentality. Like, I'm not going to make it, you know, I don't have any hope.

The Chronic represented everything that I hated about hip-hop as a fan, but then later represented everything that I stood for as a musician and engineer.