“Our household is built on love and respect. And we don’t really let negative vibes stay too long. It’s worked out. I got a great family, great kids.”

You pay to have a good time, you don’t always want to pay to be schooled or sad or reminded how bad you got it. To me a movie theater ain’t always the place for that.

I always want to read the script before I totally commit.

Rap is just somebody getting something off his chest. That’s all it is.

If you born in the mud, you gonna be dirty, and people don’t understand that.

I identify with the bottom of the pyramid, because, outside of having money, I am at the bottom of the pyramid.

I believe every pencil has to be sharpened every now and then to stay sharp, or you dull out. So my records, I chose to speak on what black people do, what white people do, what women do, what men do.

A bird in the hand is worth more than a Bush.

To me, in a perfect world, you have the flavor and the magic of movies like 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys.

You like a woman, she’s got kids, it’s a package. You can’t just go in one-sided.

Truth is the ultimate power. When the truth comes around, all the lies have to run and hide.

A lot of people have a misconception of what the ghetto is all about. You know, it’s only a small percentage of the people that are bad. Everybody else is good.

If you think about stuff that happened when you were young, it stays with you forever.

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 love any time you can enlighten people to mistakes, that’s how I started my career.

The real is always presented. That hardcore record or movie is not needed in the hood, because it’s already there. You can see it with your own eyes.

I have a really beautiful life right now, so there is no reason to be hostile. I’m a husband, a father and a man who tries to do the right thing in life and in my work.

Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors, and you choose the ones you want to have as ancestors. You create yourself out of those values.

Just as men must give up economic control when their wives share the responsibility for the family’s financial well-being, women must give up exclusive parental control when their husbands assume more responsibility for child care.

The hatred of relatives is the most violent.

Most American children suffer too much mother and too little father.

The belief that we are defending the highest good of the mothers of our race and the ultimate welfare of society makes every sacrifice seem trivial, every duty a pleasure.

If you’re a good person, the goodness will continue through your descendants.

I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time being ashamed.

Most of the people in the workforce today will spend some years when they also have children and family responsibilities.