“I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop… We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say. We’re warriors. Soldiers.”

I’m just little me, an American who wants to see his country do better.

Every time I get in the studio, I feel like I wanna have some fun.

The flaws, the mistakes I make – that’s the real me.

Every generation witnesses atrocities. People in power try to fulfill prophecy.

My earliest memories of rap music was mixed with my earliest memories of reggae music. They were big sounds around the way, heavy bass lines, strong messages, definitely.

I had a pretty public divorce. They’re not easy – divorces – and it took me a long time to really get through.

I want to have fun. It’s a beautiful life. You learn, you win, you lose, but you get up.

Whenever I received too much praise, it just didn’t feel right to me – ever.

I’ve been called everything. Gangsta rap. I’ve been called conscious rap. You know, everything. Whoever feels like calling it whatever they want to call it, that’s on them.

Anybody I’m dating, I don’t want them to talk about my music. I don’t talk about my music to them.

I go with the rhythm of it and the words start to come to my mind and those words could be based on things that’s been on my mind for the past year, the past month, the past week, whatever; I write it.

I love PBS! I grew up on it. If I had to say which channels were good, I’d say, you got your PBS, your History Channel, your Discovery.

The things that I have said when I was young and curious about whatever the subject matter was, I respect those – those are growing pains.

Let’s not forget, art can sell. You ain’t gotta front all the time on your records.

Divorce can be crazy. Man, if you’re happy… Love is a beast, man. Hold on. Be prepared for any way it may go, and be honest.

To me, creatively challenging myself is my version of owning the Nets.

Well, a lot of people within government and big business are nervous of Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists, because they speak their minds. They talk about what they see and what they feel and what they know. They reflect what’s around them.

A lot of times, when people say hip-hop, they don’t know what they’re talking about. They just think of the rappers.

We gotta understand that Hip Hop is now universal. Hip Hop is not East coast or West coast.

De La Soul, from the soul, black medallions, no gold.

All music now is influenced by Hip Hop. It’s so deeply ingrained in the culture.

I think it’s a beautiful thing how Hip Hop is received by the world.

That hungry enough, a person could consume the bright faces of violas, even the stems of dandelions and the bitter hips of roses?

I stand, limited primitive, sentimentalist, escapist The way I shape this landscape, automatically makes this, vivid I give it a rivet, hold it, stand at the pivot I love it, learn to live it, then give you my exhibit