Everything that I do is for sound goals. It comes from my gut. When I'm sitting in the studio, a mix isn't done till I feel it in my gut.

The race factor was just a minuscule part of what I was doing with Eminem. It was really about the music and how well we worked together.

I have an interesting relationship with my voice. I give myself tons of freedom in how to engage with my voice because I respect it a lot.

You can do anything in the world if you say "Hey man, don't blame me, the devil made me do it. It's an easy way to escape responsibility."

I was the youngest producer to have a No. 1 record when Kris Kross first came out, and that was a record I held for I don't know how long.

We as a music ­community have our own issues about advocacy, copyright, intellectual ­property, being paid fairly for the work that we do.

Reality TV is here, it's been here really since the Carol Levis Discovery Show in 1957. It's never changed. It just looks a bit different.

A great song can make a terrible singer sound good, but a good singer - you put a great song on top of that, you're really in great shape!

A lot of people question how talented I am. But I'm a real dude and I know real things and I've seen real people get their head blown off.

No matter where you are or what you're doing, it's always great if you don't have to get up and physically change the song that plays next.

I'm a firm believer in time. I know a lot of people don't believe in time like I do, but I think time heals and kind of reveals all for me.

The Beatles production is often so 'perfect' that it sounds computerized. 'Sgt. Pepper' really does sound like it took four months to make.

She [Beyonce]is probably the closest thing we've seen to Michael Jackson as far as having that determination and drive that I've ever seen.

I thought the grunge scene was cool. This is going to sound weird, but I remember doing a concert at a tavern in the mid-'80s with Nirvana.

For me, the singer is actually the most important element. When I work with someone, it all comes down to whether I like the singer or not.

I am not a rock producer. I don't see that. I once turned down Guns N' Roses. I don't like shouting. I'm a melody guy. I love great melody.

I never paid attention when the LP became the cassette and the cassette became the CD and now we're dealing, you know, with MP3s. It's okay.

Any time there's racism somewhere in sports, we should get it out of there because sports is a place where everything's supposed to be fair.

All school districts receive funds from the federal government, through the Department of Education, to support anti-drug education efforts.

Sidney Poitier and Sidney Lumet were instrumental in helping me get started as the first black composer to get name credit for movie scores.

The great artists represent you. The great products represent you. They don't tell you who you are. But with them, you require less verbiage.

There are certain people who respect me in the dark. Some people who don't know me are afraid to say, 'What you doin' is kind of incredible.'

Today a record producer is even more involved and is often the production's sole musician, one person playing all the instruments one-by-one.

You become more animalistic when you don't know what's coming next - you have to be on guard, but at the same time you're also more receptive.

I'm very happy when I can find somewhere with some very good matzo ball soup, tasting exactly the same as the one my mother used to do for me.

What Skrillex does with Ableton it's like being a little god. It's not just pushing loops - that's easy - but to do the effects he's a genius.

The hardest period for a writer is the period in-between writing. That's when you can go crazy if you don't allow the creative juices to flow.

I'm not really into the political game as far as paying politicians and stuff like that, I'm not into that. You do your job, and I'll do mine.

I know my flavor's going to work because I just know there's not a lot of guys like me around. So you got to figure out what's that about you.

I'm interested in how things are put together, and that's more interesting to me than just regular shows, even though I like The Walking Dead.

I tried gimmicky stuff 'cause I wanted to get some attention, and remember, you know, in the rap world Seattle was a cave. There was no light.

I have never met a successful person who talked about failing. The glass is always half full. I don't even like being around negative talkers.

Run DMC brought us out of that underground-only feel. They brought rap above ground and made it respectable as an art form to mainstream music.

I think, being a male singer, I always hate another great male singer's voice before I can love it, unless it's just really far from what I do.

When you're vegan, you spend your time chasing protein, and you're eating food that's way too high in carbs. I could never catch up on protein.

When you're with a group of semi-psychotic people, you kind of lose track of reality; it's almost like being in some sort of cult or something.

I've learned a lot from every musical collaboration I've ever had, but there's something about my relationship with Bjork that is special to me.

I've been living the American Dream for over 25 years - just being able to do what I do, be creative, and make money out of it. It's incredible.

I felt obligated to change music to art, the same way that Galileo proved the Earth was round to the world and that the Sun did not stand still.

I think the attraction of 'American Idol' is about the basic human nature attitude that is, 'We can put you up there. But we can take you down.'

I can't make two records at the same time. Whatever I do, I have to concentrate on and put everything in, because if I don't, I'm just not good.

Motown was about music for all people – white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.

Motown was about music for all people - white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.

Musical theater must adapt to the fact that music is done by people. The new generation will do something different. That is great! That is good.

'Straight Outta Compton' is the album I'm least happy with. I threw it together in six weeks so we could have something to sell out of the trunk.

"Are We There Yet?" was the perfect title, because it's such a common saying. And having made the movie with the same name kinda locks it all in.

My ambition was to be a record producer, and I had started doing that in the late '60s with my work with the MC5 and my friend Livingston Taylor.

With 'Ready to Die,' that was some of the most honest rhymes of all-time. There's some real dark material on there that Biggie was going through.

Lili manages to mix Kate Bush with modern influences to make a beautifully unique sound based around her amazing violin skills and soulful voice.

As long as I'm not selling out the people that ride or die with me, I'm glad I'm not an MC. I'm a motivational speaker. I'm not that rapper dude.

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