The best rappers I know are, like, air-conditioner men.
Action Bronson
The first rappers I ever got into were Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, and Nas. Those are the guys. Those are the dudes that flipped my wig.
You know how there's all these rappers like Mike D and King T and Ice T and Cool C or something like that? Well, on Mayberry, on 'Andy Griffith,' they had Aunt B.
Ad-Rock
Our talent and skill as rappers is clearly the first thing you notice. I don't know what we were thinking. We just really love rap and wanted to be rappers. Is that weird?
I had written rap songs in the early '90s and even did a couple homemade rap songs with my brother in like '88 or '89, but it was just like... I don't even know how to say it. Just plain rap. I was just rapping about whatever, there was no real style or direction, it was just semi-braggadocious rhymes that probably imitated 100 other rappers.
Aesop Rock
I love the playfulness and braggadocio that accompanies a ton of rap music - that's basically what makes up the foundation for most rappers. But there is nothing 'weirder' to me than someone who has never doubted themselves.
A lot of times, when people say hip-hop, they don't know what they're talking about. They just think of the rappers. When you talk about hip-hop, you're talking about the whole culture and movement. You have to take the whole culture for what it is.
Afrika Bambaataa
People get caught up in worshipping certain rappers, or they try to demonise hip hop by looking at what certain rappers are doin' in their lives.
I have a personal relationship with Dizzee Rascal - I know him, he's cool - so this is no disrespect to him or any other British rappers who tried to make it in America, like Wiley and Tinie Tempah, but the type of music they were making to be accepted over there - it doesn't translate.
AJ Tracey
In America, they don't need to look outside their country for anything, so they definitely don't need to look elsewhere for rappers with weird accents that they have to get accustomed to, which is like homework to them.
People said that way back in the early days I was probably one of the first rappers; the reason is that I couldn't sing, so I had to talk! Lou Reed was probably the one who started it all.
Alan Vega
And I learned a lot from working with this kid, and I think he's gonna be a big star. Remember the name, Tim Dark, because he has something about his voice that's different from all the other rappers, even though his style is similar.
I still very much appreciate the storytelling of the best rappers.
Alex Turner
I'm part of the generation that grew up with great rappers like 2Pac and Biggie and people like Amy Winehouse. We've seen a lot of different artists come and go. Even people who are still here, they seem consumed and blinded by fame. It may not have taken them out physically, but they have been taken out.
Anderson Paak
For some reason, we have completely separated Christians who are rappers, and we have separated, I guess, regular rappers. I feel that we should be able to mingle, enjoy each other's company, and trade ideas.
Andy Mineo
Guys pit female rappers against each other because female rappers - if you haven't noticed of late - are a lot more interesting than guys.
Angel Haze
I wanted to write a book like a rapper would write it - I didn't want to hold back. Rappers catch a lot of slack; I'm not going to be cursing up a storm, but when I look at Nas... his first album is one of my favorites. I want to tell stories like that.
Angie Thomas
You take the quote from Sam Jackson about how he'll never work with a rapper, and I can understand where he's coming from because he says rappers can't act.
Anthony Anderson
I actually think some of the rappers can help our image, because the thing I'm concerned about is the NBA's image. I always want our image to be on the rise, and if the rappers can help young players get business-minded, then I'm all for it.
Antonio Davis
I listen to what people say in the songs, not just the melodies. With rappers you gotta listen to what they say.
Anuel AA
Usually when you hear about rappers in Asia, they always try to be like gangsters and stuff like that and I don't get it.
My favorite rappers are a lot of other people's favorite rappers. I love Jay Z, Kanye, 2Pac, Biggie, old Mos Def.
A lot of rappers been putting out a lot of sub-par visuals. I feel like the visuals could be better.
I'm not saying that hip-hop needs gay rappers or anything, but they need to stop being so close-minded because that will just cause the genre to fail. Look at pop. Pop doesn't discriminate against people. Look at Lady Gaga, y'know what I mean?
I have a Rolex, but no diamonds. Rappers wear diamonds to compensate for a lack of fashion sense. I don't even have pierced ears - I'm not into that; it's too much.
I would not consider myself to be a quote unquote real New York rapper. I don't even like New York rappers.
I started in '07, and I remember, at that point, nobody was trying to hear from me because I was a young rapper. I'd be saying stuff better than some of what the hottest rappers were saying back then, but nobody was trying to hear from me.
The cats that are doing they thing, you have to search to really find them, to find rappers that can actually rap and speak messages in the music. That's not a good thing at all.
Other female rappers are overly sexual, have no wit, and their lyrics are so generic. I want to change the game to make rap that shows I'm not a normal female rapper - it's not about how rich I am, how much sex I have, or how many boyfriends I have. That's just not me.
If women dabble in rap but they're not rappers, to get from dabbling to doing it is really difficult, confidence-wise.
It's not nice to say it - I know female musicians, but not so many rappers. I can't think of one I idolize, which is sad, but I'm hoping that will change.
Earlier in our country, rapping was not considered as a proper art form, as it is not a song. But now, incorporation of rap in Bollywood songs, is giving rappers a chance to show their talent and it is coming to the mainstream.
The old West Coast rappers are the way I rap; they weren't always on beat but it was about telling a story. I'm just a little more modern so it doesn't sound exactly the same.
All these Lil' rappers, I'm just kind of getting real irritated by it. I said, 'You know what? Drop the Lil'. Forget it. I'm Bow Wow.
There are not many people that I respect more than rappers. I'm a huge fan of hip hop. It's incredible, one of the most influential things to me. It takes real genius to be able to do well. It's a very deep art form.
All those rappers, they're the only glamorous people working in music now. They dress up in these chains of gold, cars, girls and this and that, high-heeled shoes.
When I was young, I wanted to be like the rappers. I remember being in junior high and wanting a fisherman hat and a link because EPMD had one. I wanted to wear Adidas because Run-DMC wore Adidas. As I came into my own, I just wanted to do me.
What people have to realize is this: You have rappers who are popular or whatever for the time being, but that don't mean you necessarily want to dress like them. You may have a guy who sells five million records; do you want to dress like him? When you see me, you think you may want to dress like that guy because that guy is fly.
I'ma sound like all your favorite rappers.
It's not even the female rappers that are catty - it's the fans. They just want that beef.
I actually love the 'rappers look,' with the saggy pants and oversized clothes. It's very deliberate.
I was one of the first rappers to have his own forum. Then 50 Cent made 'Thisis50.com,' and everyone made sites just like it.
When I'm in the studio with other rappers, we talk about social issues.
If you look at companies like Twitter, Google, all these companies started with ideas and then everybody used it. In my world, people don't think like that. Rappers chase the next check. They become a slave to labels and eventually that money starts shrinking.
I didn't want to be one of these rappers that holds his chain up just faking like he has money. I wanted more.
We as rappers have a job and have to get fans music and let them know about stuff that's coming out. So if everyone migrates to Twitter, that's where we go.
If I was a white rapper, the bar for me would be Eminem. Of course his white skin helped him excel to heights that a lot of other rappers couldn't, but he still was talented. People gravitated towards him because of his skills. He stood the test of time.
It's always cool when you get immortalized on records. I am just happy that I have gotten to the level where rappers who can actually rap say my name in records, regardless if it's a diss or not.
Rappers have traditionally put products in songs, and it's been products that don't put anything back into our community.
My face is on bubblegum wrappers now!
