I started rapping because I wanted people to hear what I have to say, I want as many people to hear me as possible, and I do everything in my power to make that pop.

By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something unattainable. Never-ending undying love. And in hip hop, we're still taking direct inspiration.

I have enough rhythm to blend at this point. I have enough rhythm to blend one song into another. But man, I have such respect for the art of deejaying. I hesitate to even call myself a deejay.

I don't care if Rick Ross is 40 years old -- he's a misguided 40-year-old person.

I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.

Hip-hop is a vehicle.

If you go to a college campus and you do stop and frisk, you're going to find a lot of drugs there too.