“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.”

If you really look at my lyrics, nobody’s exempt. Nobody’s exempt from observation, criticism or what I think is correction.

The best thing I’ve done with my money is buy a house for my family. You wake up to a house you love and you feel like somebody.

You don’t wanna mess up what you’ve done. It’s like Jordan coming back: You’re scared to mess up the legacy.

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.

There’s things people say in the barbershop they won’t even say in their own living room, because it’s just one of those zones where nobody’s going to judge you too much about your dumb opinion.

Should I peel a cap or should I let him survive?

You wanna be remembered for making an impact and changing things.And I guess for the good or for the bad, it don’t matter. But I guess you just wanna be remembered when it’s all said and done.

If you love what you do, and you believe in your talent, there’s nothing better than breaking through. There’s no better feeling than breaking through.

I’m always the “less is more” guy when it comes to a scene. So I’ma be the one who will keep it grounded. Even if I let it go off and go crazy, I’m still the voice of keeping things grounded in reality.

I been all around the world and I haven’t found a city that I’d rather be from or rather come back to than Los Angeles.

I don’t cook gumbo, but I just know it’s a lot of good ingredients in it. And, with a movie, you got to have all those ingredients.

Money is the root of all evil. Yeah, money is the root. It’s not racism and “this-ism” and “that-ism”; it’s our thirst and hunger for money. And that’s where all the bodies are buried.

I’ve been fighting my whole career to show a different side and prove naysayers – not prove them wrong, because I don’t think you should get your energy from negative people.

The moral is that a career can be gone in an instant. And all you have in this world are the people you love.

Most of the problems that we have are brought on by the government and not by music. Music is a mirror of what we’re going through, not the cause of what we’re going through.

Early in my career, people wanted to hear music about protest, about trying to change things.

All I believe in is, you need to be yourself.

I believe that if man and woman cherish the same ideals and think alike, then the marriage can be complementary to each other’s work instead of being a hindrance.

I have found that confiding in someone who loves you unconditionally to be extremely healing. A safe place to share and release.

I truly believe every unfortunate experience holds within it a blessing of some kind.

A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn’t have. I hope my example helps other teens believe they can accomplish things they never thought possible.

At a time when opportunism is everything, when hope seems lost, when everything boils down to a cynical business deal, we must find the courage to dream. To reclaim romance. The romance of believing in justice, in freedom, and in dignity. For everybody.

I believe in the woman I am striving to become.

I’ve always believed happiness is overrated, you know? It’s those difficult times that inform the next wonderful time, and it’s a series of trade-offs, of events, of wins and losses.