I'm willing to role the dice with my career to be different.
Chamillionaire
Rap got me out of the hood. Rap got me out of Houston and helped me to see the world.
I don't want people to love me. I want people to chill and just listen to my music.
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.
There are cops who be racially profiling.
Life is too short to be arguing over some little things.
I was thinking what happens if I break my leg today? What can I do to prevent me going back to the place of being poor? It led me to the world of venture capitalism. How are they making money? I decided I'm going to learn as much as I can.
I mean honestly, anybody can diss me. I remember 50 Cent said something and everybody was like you need to get at 50 and I was like, 'Whatever, I'm in a whole different place in my life.' It's gon' have to take something really, really serious for me to start putting that much negative energy into the world again.
When I get to the stage, I don't get no kind of weird feeling when everybody starts screaming. It doesn't make me feel superhuman or anything. Me, I never really wanted to be famous like that.
It's an honour to have been invited to perform in India for 'Vh1 Hip Hop Hustle.' This only reconfirms the impact Hip Hop culture and music has made globally.
When people say they can't find African-American startups to invest in, it just sounds a little crazy to me.
Timing is everything for me, especially.
I've watched the dynamics of music completely change to where we've sold tapes, we've sold CDs, then everything started becoming 'music is free' now. In a perfect world, Napster wouldn't have come along. But the world isn't perfect, and when it changes, you have to adapt.
I named my first album 'The Sound of Revenge' because I wanted to get revenge on everyone who doubted me. But when I finally got revenge, I didn't enjoy it.
I've got an iPod but I don't even use it. It's just that, you know, you've got to like plug it up to the computer. And then you've got to download songs. And put them in your playlist. I'd rather just get the CD and pop it in. I'm cool with the Discman. The Walkman.
Even if I did work with a big producer, you try not to do the same kind of records as everybody else.
There are a lot of people that have great ideas that want to create disruptive companies that change the world but everybody doesn't have the skills to be able to do that.
Artists can be themselves. They don't have to pretend to be somebody they're not.
Music's designed to be timeless.
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.
Don't listen to much country music, you know, but I know a little bit though. My sister listens to a little bit of country.
I didn't want to be one of these rappers that holds his chain up just faking like he has money. I wanted more.
I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel with 'Venom.' I'm not trying to go too far to the left or too far to the right. Sometimes I step outside the box and it might lose people a little bit, so this time I'm going straight up the middle. I'm coming with some hard stuff.
I want people to understand how the tech world changes my world.
I know I make a lot of jokes about Mike Jones, but I don't even have no hatred for him.
Snoop Dogg has this larger than life image which is so not true because when you meet him in person he's so humble, loves his kids and enjoys his life.
For those of you familiar with me, you know I'm the last person to chase publicity or attention.
We all know he was talented but he was also a very smart, kind, funny individual and his personality and presence will be deeply missed. There will never be another person like him but his legacy will live forever. R.I.P. Chad Butler.
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.
Slim Thug and Z-Ro can make a record together, and even Flip and T.I. can make a record together, but there's a difference between that and Flip and T.I. holding hands and being friends. When people say they want these records, they mean that they want us all to be friends.
Before, I used to just make songs all day and now, with so much business and other things that I have in my personal life, I don't have time to sit around and make songs like I used to. I wish I did. I wish I could practice on my craft all day and just be in the studio like I feel Lil Wayne does.
People always put you in a box as a rapper, especially when I get up on a panel and start speaking, and I start speaking when I got some sense. They're like, 'Oh, well, I didn't expect him to have sense.'
Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you're not doing it big.
I know that the fans are also very responsible for an artist's success and feel like they deserve to be recognized.
I don't want to be the guy that's sitting here, calling somebody and telling them their dream. I want to be in the seat of the founder.
I walked around the music industry for a bunch of years, right? I saw a lot of rich people. I didn't see wealthy. I got into the tech industry, I see wealthy every day.
I just think knowledge makes the world go 'round, man. So, if that makes me a geek, then cool.
I trust my gut instinct, and go against the grain and it works.
I want to do more to create more awareness so that the people in our communities aren't just thinking that you just got to be a basketball player or a rapper, because that's what I thought.
The reason why we decided to put the focus on minority and women-funded startups is because this demographic of companies and founders is just underrepresented, they're under-invested in.
There are people that are doing things that I would've never even thought possible.
When fans know they are being rewarded, they are more engaged.
Just like so many other people out there, I don't want to sit on the sidelines, I want to do the most that I can to help.
If you don't have respect for immigrants, or you don't have respect for minorities, or you don't have respect for women, it's gonna be very difficult for you to understand why the other side needs to be treated fairly.
Don't let evil agendas turn us against each other.
I can't live without my iPhone.
If I was to leave home without my wallet and my iPhone, and I could only go back and get one, I'd grab my iPhone.
Sometimes I'll do something when I'm tired at night, and it'll sound hot. But in the morning, when I'm wide awake, I'll listen again and think it's way off. Nobody else would notice it, but I'm like, I've got to fix that!
I used to try to get revenge on the critics, but now I realize I've already won, and it doesn't matter what people say.
