“I ain’t the captain of the yacht, but I’m on the boat; I ain’t acting what I’m not, knowing that I don’t. You niggaz acting like you will, but I know you won’t. Man, I read between the lines of the eyes of your brows, Your handshake ain’t matchin your smile.”

PW spent time with Sigel in a New York recording studio shortly before he went away on his federal gun possession charge.

I’m caught up in the system where the blind lead the blind And this artist only speaks on the Signs of the Time. And I pop pills in Purple Rain to state my pain, They say I’m just like my father, bold and too cold.

I was never in an awkward position where I had to curb my manhood.

He paged through a book of promotional photos of himself, one of which was shot shortly after 911. It featured him holding a copy of the Bible upright in one palm while the Koran rose from the other the Twin Towers.

I don’t think there’s much a person could say about me. My gangster’s never been on trial.

I could wake up six in the morning, go downstairs and record. I learned how to use ProTools and everything. Whenever I felt it, I could record.

I can still do clothing, movies, cartoons. I’mma get mine regardless. Whether I put an album out or not, I’m still gonna see a check.

You always gotta be on time, an hour ahead of everything. You always gotta be prepared.

That’s what I do… Some people smoke weed, some people smoke cigarettes, some people snort coke… I pop pills, I smoke and I drink syrup, that’s my twist.

Some of the record company people, they wouldn’t let me put this out, … They said it would be too controversial. But this picture is saying ‘Look, they can stand together. Don’t have to be no fight.’

You don’t need Beanie Sigel in the building with a pre-perception that this crazy dude might do anything.

Pull down the shades on the windows of your soul, And gaze into your mind and watch the wisdom unfold.

Jadakiss is not no walk in no park. Nas is not no walk in no park. These are dudes that could have ended my career.

Acting is telling the truth under imaginary circumstances.

All I have to say is basically if performing, singing, acting, and dancing is what you want to do, then you just have to do it – no matter where it is.

Sometimes when you’re acting, you only need a little bit of something to sort of channel or, you know, transport into a place.

I would love to play Jimi Hendrix.

I’m an artist. Artists don’t need permission to work. Regardless of whether I’m acting or not, I write. I write when I’m tired in fact, because I believe your most pure thoughts surface.

I would love to have an ocean of love right now. That said, the number-one rule of acting is, ‘Do not seek approval from the audience.’ People don’t realize that. You can’t do stuff to get applause. You have to live in the truth.

The nature of the human mind is such that unless it is stimulated by images of things acting upon it from without, all remembrance of them passes easily away.

My approach to acting is that I am totally intuitive. I read the script and I get it. If I don’t get it, I can’t do it.