We are who we are because of who we were

I just kind of shoot the finger to the critics. I don't give sh - what a critic says. To me a critic is some loser who has no idea... someone with an opinion. We all have opinions.

You can't please everybody, and basically I just decided to please myself first on this record. This record is more like my diary and I am expressing myself through my music. And that's what it should be about. That's why I didn't change my name or anything. It's not about the name; it's about the music. The old saying goes that video killed the radio star and it's very true. And now I'm just letting everything revolve around the music. There is no image; I am just being myself.

I like Cleveland. I like the Cavaliers. Nothing wrong with Cleveland. I have lots of friends there.

My sound has changed. It's still hiphop, but it's more of like a rock/hip-hop show. It's high energy, stage diving, pyrotechnics, girls showing their breasts. It's crazy party atmosphere.

It wasn't until '94 when I tried to commit suicide that I realized that it wasn't about the money.

This was totally influenced by me and the direction that I am writing about and the stuff that I am writing about. There is just no way that you can be as intense as what I have been through in my life over a drum beat machine, sample, or loop; it's just not going to happen.