“One thing I’m big on is believing in giving an album time. I’ll say you’ll have to give an album three years before you can call it a classic. If you can’t listen to it three years later then it’s not really a classic.”

You already past 21 and you still talking about “I’ma be a rapper.” You ain’t did one show, niggas ain’t seen you on TV. So Kendrick kind of went through the same thing I went through. He just had his mom’s house to go to.

I would definitely want a hit record, but I still want the success to be around the album. Only the music can help me.

I’m a performer. That’s what I do. That and making money – it’s the passion and the care factor for the people that support your passion, the people that support you, it’s the kind of people that go crazy and love your stuff.

People look at me and keep walking – but you can tell they know who I am. I want them to bug me. Its gonna be a sad day when they dont.

I’m not the ‘rappity-rapper’ type dude. All my music is really true. I can’t just rap about nothing, just metaphors and putting words together. I can’t just smash out material like other guys. I just want my albums to be crazy every time I drop one.

I knew school was stupid since the fifth grade.

I remember listening to Sugar Free and Jay Z and I never really understood some of the stuff they used to say until years later. Then you hear it again like, Damn that’s crazy. I just got what he’s talking about.

I got a Lucifer soul. I’ll be the Devil’s son, Devil’s work, gettin’ work.

The streets helps you a lot in music, cause it let’s you know that you can’t trust nobody and that nobody’s gonna wait for you. You can’t just sit there with dope in your pocket and think that people are gonna come to you. You gotta put the product out there.

I’m not anti single. I’m not one of them niggas that say “Aww record sales ain’t everything.” No. I wanna sell good. I would love a platinum record on radio and charts.

We’re living or dying. We’re already dead, the living dead. So do what you gotta do. Take care of your family, of yourself as a whole, and everything will be alright.

I think thats what most of us rappers do too often. We put too much information in some of our albums that could actually be on the next ones.

All these niggas that have good music have longevity.

I hate the business part of music. Music is just like the streets. There’s loyal and disloyal people, people saying one thing and then don’t do it.

I let my music do the talking. Ain’t no TV show gonna help me. Ain’t no hit single gon help me sell no records.

I never wanna have a time where I’m on the big lawn just sitting back smoking cigars and drinking lemonade. I wanna work forever. Until I die. I wanna die on the way to a show.

I like to perform every once in a while for people who want to see me, and cut albums of music that is what I’m really about.

I definitely have plans to do more collaboration albums in the future.

Stillmatic’ is the rebirth of ‘Illmatic,’ my first debut album to come out in 1994. ‘Stillmatic’ is me coming full circle in my career and with everything, and just bringing pure hip-hop back.

By the time I got to record my first album, I was 26, I didn’t need pen or paper – my memory had been trained just to listen to a song, think of the words, and lay them to tape.

My first album didn’t come out until I was 26.

Some people are attracted to vulnerability. From my very first album, I’ve been vulnerable. I’ve always given parts of me, parts of my life – good, bad, ugly. I’ve never put up this image as a super-thug. Also, some people just like the music.

The average rap life is two or three albums. You’re lucky to get to your second album in rap!

When I’m recording my album, I want to be acting, or when I’m on set, I want to be making music.