“I’ve talked to Bill Clinton – he’s the ultimate rock star; no one’s more charming than him. People clap in a restaurant when he finishes dinner! I don’t get that treatment. I get it when I walk onstage, but not when I have dinner.”

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.

I got love for Damon Dash as I did before. I don’t know if we can be around each other in that way because times have changed. He may be a totally different person.

I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.

I love what I do, and when you love what you do, you want to be the best at it.

Religion is like a personal computer. You let people in if you want to… We’re all gods.

My dad was such a good dad that when he left, he left a huge scar. He was my superhero.

I think that’s what happened to the record business when ‘Napster’ came around. The industry rejected what was happening instead of accepting it as change.

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

Growing up, politics never trickled down to the areas we come from. But people from Obama’s camp, and Obama himself, reached out to me and asked for my help on the campaign. We’ve sat and had dinner, and we’ve spoken on the phone. He’s a very sharp guy. Very charming. Very cool.

I don’t think any rapper can go back. You can be a car salesman, a bank teller – I mean, really good jobs, and people are still gonna look at you and be like, ‘You used to rap; what happened?’

Hip-hop has done more for race relations than most cultural icons; and I say save Martin Luther King, because his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech was realized when Obama was elected into office.

I try to make music with emotion and integrity. And authenticity.

Music is everywhere – you consume it every day, everywhere you go. The content creator should be compensated. It’s only fair.

I don’t have any fear of working with Samsung because I’m not gonna let them put a phone on my forehead; that’s just never gonna happen.

I remember the first time I saw the ‘Sugarhill Gang’ on Soul Train. I was 11 or 12. I was like, ‘What’s going on? How did those guys get on national TV?’ And then, when I was a little older, a rapper from the neighborhood got a record deal. I was shocked.

I’ve said the election of Obama has made the hustler less relevant. People took it in a way that I was almost dismissing what I am. And I was like, ‘No, it’s a good thing!’

Bill Clinton was relentless, eloquent and truly charming.

Almost anybody would rather be known for expert shoe-tying than for kicking the cat.” She always tells whiners how charming they are–bullies how brave–bad sports how good–sneaks how honest!

The more charming person is the person who admits the other person is more charming.

There is no shame like poor shame. It can make you warm and charming, bitter and resentful, all at once.

But I was very, very unhappy because my mother was very charming and generous, but to me, very dominating.

Ronald Reagan was this actor who was going to be president, and he was very charming. What he had was, he talked about America in ways that got people all caught up in it. He was creating this America – it could even be the mythical “America” – that we subscribe to.

The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use to investors.

You are very amiable, no doubt, but you would be charming if you would only depart.