Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.

It’s very seductive to focus on what you don’t like as opposed to celebrating all that it is that you do.

When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that.

I just got a new manager. He's like, "So what do you want to do with the deejay thing?" I'm like, "The deejay thing for me is more my hobby." It's great when you can supplement your income, when you have a weekly or something, it's fun. It's really a hobby, because I don't want it to take away from what I do, which is emceeing.

I think the biggest problem in our country is mass incarceration and the prison-industrial complex. From the Rockefeller drug laws to stand your ground to stop and frisk, all these are pointing people, especially and disproportionately black and brown people, towards the criminal-justice system. It's depleting whole generations of people.

I listened to a mind joint, and I wanted to do my own version of it, and what you hear on my mixtape is my take on what the whole CD sounds like.

When you shine bright, some won't enjoy the shadow you cast.