“It wasn’t necessary to speak on the recession, you know what I mean, but I just though it made a lot of sense. I was like, “okay, cool,” I’m going to go with this approach for the name of the album [ The Recession].”

Music is all about leadership and there ain’t really a lot of leaders.

With rap, it’s a funny thing. You can say things, and people can take ’em the way they wanna take ’em.

Anybody that’s got a problem with me is probably envious or wants to be me, and that’s how I’ve always looked at it.

Every time I’m out and somebody tells me they love what I do, that’s what I do it for. That’s like my vice. That’s like my high. When people understand that this is who I really am, and to be appreciated for your craft .

I’ma continue to make records, continue to make hits, continue to be what I am, legendary.

I never wanted to be a statistic. I never wanted to be that cat who tried and never made it.

Anybody that I ever dealt with knows that I’m a very focused individual, and when it comes to my work and what I do, you might have to play the back burner to that.

You seen my shows; I bring the ‘hood out.

A lot of things come with fame, whether it’s losing friends or losing family.

My fans are my family, because they understand me and I understand them.

Think you figured it out, but you don’t have a clue. Think you on top of the world, but the world on top of you.

People who work every day are kind of scared of things they don’t understand.

You’ve got to be happy with yourself. You can’t sell yourself if you’re out here and you ain’t good. Because you’re giving people messages, and if your message is wrong, then it’s like the blind leading the blind.

You gotta have life your way. If you ain’t losing your mind, you ain’t partying right.

The world is yours and everything in it, it’s out there- get on your grind and get it.

My hustle is nonstop. I never stop hustling.

I always wanted to make an album and it was an idea that came to me when we first started working on Aladdin.

The album feels like a new era for me — emotionally, lyrically, sonically. It feels fresh, it feels new. It’s still me.

Truth is, you make albums, and some of those songs are hits, and some of the greatest hits albums have songs that weren’t hits.

I’ve been told I sold 110m albums and singles. If that’s the case, I should’ve come here in a space rocket.

When you work as hard as you can and as much as you can to make your first album, and you don’t make any money, then you change things.

I want to do an album with Steven Seagal.

I knew I was destined to do a solo album, but when I did that first album in 1978, I had no idea it was going to be that well received.

I’ve been following battle rap for a long time. Me and Daylyt are real cool. We battled on my album, he’s on my album. We did a one round battle on my album and that was just me capturing These Days.