Working with great people makes you great; you learn a lot and it also gives you the experience and confidence to move on with your own career.
Nas
The flaws, the mistakes I make - that's the real me.
Hip-hop is the streets. Hip-hop is a couple of elements that it comes from back in the days... that feel of music with urgency that speaks to you. It speaks to your livelihood and it's not compromised. It's blunt. It's raw, straight off the street - from the beat to the voice to the words.
I just enjoy life now. I just enjoy every morning I get to wake up.
I want to have fun. It's a beautiful life. You learn, you win, you lose, but you get up.
'Life Is Good' represents the most beautiful, dramatic and heavy moments in my life.
I don't go out unless I'm working. My quality time is when I'm doing nothing.
Some people say I'm conscious, some say I'm a gangsta rapper - it's just me doing me. I'm stomping in my own lane. I'm doing what I do.
The sound of the '90s, to me, is a combination of soul and street - it's a feeling.
Once you make it to your point of making it, you'll appreciate the struggle.
You can't please everybody. You'd be crazy if you're trying to. So take some time out to do some things for yourself.
All fatherhood is very important because single mothers shouldn't have to raise sons or daughters; they need that help.
I love the art world, I love art galleries, I love what it means - I love art.
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.
Every generation witnesses atrocities. People in power try to fulfill prophecy.
Hip-hop lasted and survived all these years that you have to give it credit. Even though it's not up to people's expectations anymore, its still here, and that's says a lot.
I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still blessed with the opportunity to make music and pass out a message like, 'Life is good,' to the world.
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 think if I heard someone else talking about their life, describing all the problems I've had, they'd look like they were through. Done. But there's something about me - I'm smiling. Those things are really not bad enough to put me in a slump. I'm smiling with the opportunity to wake up every morning.
When you're a teenager, you want to meet a lot of girls - you want to get the most girls. You don't know anything about respect; you don't know anything about being faithful and loyal to your girlfriend.
Calling Michelle 'Obama Barack's baby mama?' Tell me, is that acceptable? But the Obamas aren't the only targets. Fox's pattern of race-baiting and fear-mongering regularly focuses on black leaders, black institutions and ordinary black people.
I'm just little me, an American who wants to see his country do better.
GaGa is one of my favourites. Her voice is incredible and she's fearless and she's ahead of the game. She's ahead of the entire game, and I admire that.
Marley is someone before his time, man. He's - he's almost - he's like a deity, like almost, you know what I mean? I just talk about what's going on, but of course, you know, Bob, before rappers, was already laying that kind of thing down.
I want to sound like an instrument. I want my voice and my words to marry the beat. 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.
When you have a daughter, you want to protect her from the things that I've seen out there, you know, the things that's out there that ain't good for her. It's a crazy world we live in.
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.
Hip-hop artists, especially the older ones, are the ones who knew hip-hop was a worldwide phenomenon before the mainstream caught on, so hip-hop artists are forward thinkers. We want to stay with the new.
No one's promised anything. You could have the biggest record on radio and sell no records.
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. Even if you make mistakes, I go back to those things, my not-so-great moments because those are my truest moments; those are my human moments. I'm not even mad at the things I said that were a little dicey.
I think the fact that I made enough noise in the world that I might be remembered is an amazing achievement. You can't ask for more than that.
I talk about life, and I make universal music with an American style - and that's what I do.
I see N.Y. hip-hop like I see N.Y. streets. N.Y. streets are grimy; it's a grind. N.Y. rappers are hustlers - whatever sound is in, we can adapt to that; there's nothing wrong with that.
There was a side of me that knew I was gonna change the game, but I didn't know how many people would respect it.
I don't get jealousy, I don't get how people hate each other - I never did.
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.
I don't have time for the news clippings. I got my own mission.
N.Y. hip-hop is ok, but we gotta become brave again; we have to be brave enough and do something new - that's what New York is about... New.
I definitely have plans to do more collaboration albums in the future. I'm a big fan of Common. I'm a big fan of Scarface; I'm a big fan of so many people, from Jeezy to... well, there are a lot of people's music that I respect. I don't know who I will collaborate with, but there's a great chance of something happening.
With age comes common sense and wisdom.
Anybody can be a rapper, but not anybody can be a classical artist.
DJs play a big responsibility of what hip-hop is doing... At the end of the day, it's up to us to control and to own hip-hop. DJs need to challenge us rappers. They got so much power, they need to challenge us.
I can't control what people think. They know who I am.
Unfortunately, man, a lot of places in America have to deal with unnecessary violence. Somebody like me who knows it firsthand and could relate... I had a best friend killed, plenty other friends killed. I been through it. I seen it.
Your look reflects what's happening in your mind. You gotta have some swag to you.
I'm not talking about Russia in my music. I've never been to Russia. I'm not talking about Africa, Switzerland, China. I'm talking about me being American and growing up in a crazy world and helping to reflect all different sides of life.
It's never been seen that a street artist go as far as I've gone - keep consistent without wanting to do a bunch of ventures outside of music to keep my face out there.
I have no tattoos that I regret - I have had some that I have had changed according to how my life was.
When I say 'hip-hop is dead,' basically, America is dead. There is no political voice. Music is dead.
