Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I think the new school is dope. Artists like Kid Cudi, The Cool Kids, Drake and Wale can come out of middle class homes and be on tracks with people like Jay-Z, who's from the hood and the street.
I started freestyling with friends about eight or nine years ago. I started writing also around the same time, but didn't meet blockhead until about '94. I started making beats not until about '96.
I think when I show my vulnerability, people relate with that because they know deep down inside that they have vulnerable moments, and they can really connect and identify with me on those things.
Man, just believe in yourself, be able to dream, and know that there's going to be valleys and peaks. Always stay centered, and know that God is the key, the beginning and end of everything you do.
I was in the heart and soul of Baltimore. I definitely felt a connection to the people. They're really hard-working people that want to have a better life. And I saw the struggle that exists there.
I don't rely on catchphrases or really like sing-along. I just do whatever I feel. Whatever the beat makes me say, I do that and I run with that. It's been working for me, so I'd be cool with that.
I like feeling warm inside a small home, knowing there's a set of glowing eyes out in the woods somewhere. It's just a vibe I enjoy writing about, and it deals simultaneously with safety and danger.
I believe in heaven more than hell, lessons more than jail. In the ghetto, let love prevail with a story to tell. My eyes see the glory, and well, The world waiting for me to yell, "I Have A Dream!"
One of the reasons why I thought it was a good decision to put Def Jux on hold is that it's a hell of a lot easier to dismiss something as a movement than to dismiss individuals making good records.
The first time I was homeless was when I went to Atlanta. I was in a homeless shelter, then when I got a job I used to miss the curfew for the shelter. So I ended up sleeping outside in the streets.
People don't accredit Killer Mike and El-P with having the humanity that we do. They don't understand that the darkness and the anger that we rap about comes from a place of love, care, and concern.
It's not about the way you look It's not about your face It's all about the way you think It's all about your grace You're love is like a power chase You're like an oak tree growing in a flower vase
With this project ["This Is Mike Stud"] in general, I tried to put my life on record. All of these things I'm going through right now, I used to dream about and didn't think could ever happen to me.
I've been following battle rap for a long time. Me and Daylyt are real cool. We battled on my album, he's on my album. We did a one round battle on my album and that was just me capturing These Days.
I remember when I was younger, I read that Jay-Z was 33 and I was just like, 'Damn! This dudes really still goin for it?' It's just so rare that you see any rapper over 30 doing anything interesting.
Hopefully, at the end of all this, my music is going to be used as a tool to help people have meaningful conversations and meaningful relationships with themselves and with other people and with God.
Personally, I don't do certain things. I read articles and they'll pit me against Lil' Kim like I'm going to smash them down. I never said any of that; I never said I didn't like Kim or Foxy [Brown].
My schedule has not calmed down, but I'm definitely not so devastated as I used to be. Definitely cooler now. A lot of blessings have fallen into my lap, and I'm very thankful to receive all of them.
This is jazz, this is funk, this is soul, this is gospel This is sanctified sick, this is player Pentecostal. This is church front pew, Amen, pulpit, What my people need and the opposite of bullshit.
When I think about a Chicago sound, I think about the Great Migration from the South. Many of Chicago's black artists are from Mississippi, Arkansas, and with them was brought blues and gospel music.
It's anxiety that led to a depression that I've been dealing with since I was 16, 17. That was the first time I was ever prescribed medication for either of those disorders I guess you would call it.
I don't love America; I love people and places in America. How could I truly love an entity that views me as subhuman, that wrote in its constitution for me to be considered three-fifths of a person?
You see a lot of people get into 40, 50 years old and have these mid-life crises' or whatever their called because they realize they haven't been doing anything their whole life that makes them happy.
I've always believed that if you cannot do it, then you should not do it.Only when it comes to the point where you've literally dug yourself into a hole, where it's sink or swim, is that viable to me.
If you hear people talking about the Golden Era of rap, they're usually talking about the early Wu Tang Clan era and then Nas and Biggie and so on. But for me, it goes back to the '80s - 1986 to 1989.
For Joe Budden fans, and for Joe Budden, I like to focus on the creative side, and havin' a thought and bein' able to execute it in the booth. I think that song best displays me being able to do that.
I just like cars, period. I can find something to like about pretty much any car. I've had as much fun whipping around Italy in a little Mini Cooper as I've had whipping through Miami in a Bentley GT.
There [are] times when I put out an album, and I don't hear my songs really on the radio a lot, and it's like, Dang, I ain't inside that world. But I'm still moving some people or touching some people.
LA is the only place where people know my name and still walk up to me and ask it. And I think that was really representative of a lot of the transplant people in LA. I just found everything so phoney.
I really enjoy doing music because it's a challenge to try to reach that frequency and connect with people and get them tuned to what you're talking about. I definitely respect and enjoy that challenge.
The first lady in my life, but now you're gone, I learned through the years to keep carrying on. Your picture brings me tears and memories, The way things could be...and they should be, but they're not.
I listen to him [Chief Keef] the most. I like his older mixtapes a little better though, because old Chief Keef scared me - I thought he was about to pop up out of nowhere with a hoodie on and shoot me.
You can't turn back technology and you can't turn back authoritarianism. You can't have one hand in the dirt and one hand in the crystal clear water and say that you're clean. That's just the way it is.
I think that every record label has its trials and tribulations, its ups and downs. The only thing you can do is hope to recognize what it is that makes you great, and to try and continue to capture it.
When we did 'Back In The Game' on the Wu-Tang 'Iron Flag' album, I did a verse about gambling. I didn't want to be 'back in the game' or 'back on the block' - that's typical. I made it all metaphorical.
I just have certain interests in different things, and they inspire me to write. I would encourage aspiring artists or MCs or rappers to be able to grab from many different sources to create your story.
I just listen to a lot of stuff. Sometimes I play music; a lot of times, it will be stuff from back in the day. Sometimes I scan through the radio. Not the average stations that play the everyday thing.
I used to wanna rap like Jay-Z, Now I feel I could run laps around Jay-Z, Nas ain't seen nothing this nasty, B.I.G. & Pac got it coming when I pass too. You got the mic, I ain't the one you wanna pass to
I got two choices, both require pain One’s the pain of change and the pain of staying the same One of ‘em leads to joy, other one leads to shame One of ‘em leads to freedom, the other keeps me in chains.
I hope people listen to the music. Don't write it off because there is a Christian doing it and it's been labeled that way, because if I'm honest with you, Christian rap for the most part has been corny.
What America was built on was being able to say, 'Hey, we're going to come in and use our resources to build for ourselves and our communities and build around that. We're not going to depend on others.'
Movies and media really can influence us. A few years ago, my daughter wanted to be a dancer; since Obama came into office, she now wants to be a lawyer and get into politics and maybe even be president.
Our love of kung fu goes back to the Bruce Lee days in the 1970s. Outside the action, we loved the interesting, heartfelt stories and the dialogue. It was RZA's idea to draw all that in there as samples.
The things I'm saying in my records are always me. I write about things in my life that I'm experiencing. When you hear the personal meaningful records that aren't about partying, they stem from my life.
It's basically me saying to the industry that I won't work within the walls in hip-hop. I want to put a twist on things, and that's what that song is all about. It's about putting a twist on stereotypes.
Everything is written in my mind, more so due to my lack of vision at this point. After years of vigorous writing, it was more of a challenge to do it without paper or sidekicks. I enjoy a good challenge.
I'm not interested in hearing yet another rapper tell me why he's the best. Why not tell a story set in a specific time and place? Create some characters, add a little bit of action and you're good to go.
The fundamentals of hip-hop still play an important role, cause it's about those similes, those metaphors, those parallels. And to some people it's just about, "Man, I'm really relating to the lifestyle."
I wanted to create a story that would address America's history, successes, and problems while pointing to a hopeful resolution. I wanted it to be told from the perspective of an "Everyman" point of view.
I've been able to tour because of my music and I've learned a lot about myself while on the road. I think some of the imagery of my writing are snapshots of where I've been and my feelings about the world.