I never feel confined by gender, by labels, by expectations, by stereotypes. I'm free to be myself.

I'm loud, I'm super comedic about my life, and I always try to look for partners who are the same about theirs, and with that I just try to always find a partner who I can have a laugh with who completely understands me before I begin to share anything.

I'm not trendy and I'm not popular.

I have confidence and je ne sais quoi. That is unmistakable.

I'm very 'nothing-bothers-me,' laissez faire. Everything works for me.

I don't think many people have met someone like me. I don't think the world gets to see too many women like me, and I enjoy being that woman.

When I started out rapping, I became very frightened by the idea that people were trying to pigeonhole me. That's usually what happens to most female rappers. They fit in a box and there's a prototype or person they're compared to.

I believe in God, Nature, Magic, and the spiritual healing of all holistic properties.

I'd been suffering all of my life. I think comedians and artists, we do that. We know how to be the life of the party and enjoy exuberance outside of pain.

I don't have much in life but my work is what makes me alive.

I was a happy-go-lucky gothic girl who had an optimistic spirit cos I was suffering a lot at home.

I try not to be overly nostalgic, and I don't use nostalgia to be kitschy.

Men should understand that women are creatures of nature, and that they are to be respected as nature, and that they are interchangeable and complex like nature.

Music has empowered me through poverty, abuse, and mental-health issues.

I was just a queer theater kid from New York City.

It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be. A place where both my artistic merit and hard work meet. A day where I can say, 'Yeah, I'm a musician. A good one.'

Music is a beauty pageant. When I go put myself out there, I'm going to compete.

I truly have a lot of faith in the universe even when I'm down, I'm always good.

I don't have a make-up artist and I don't need a stylist.

I like to honor my West African and Taino ancestry, I consider it sacred and divine.

My definition of God is the highest supreme feeling of beauty and light and happiness.

I think that brown people are attracted to rock music because it speaks on the spectrum of pain that brown people are predisposed to.

Black people created punk - the band Death was way before The Ramones. Same with Bad Brains. If you think about it, the wool has been pulled over our eyes.

People look down on teen moms and young mothers when they are the most gracious and significant women on this Earth. They sacrifice their freedom and their lives to give life.

Everybody wants to act like I ain't a big deal when I am. I'm one of the most successful, relevant and influential rappers of my generation.

Black people created rock music, it's a fact. Black people created bluegrass and rock and roll way before Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

My ancestors had to keep their customs secret for fear of death or persecution, so it's common to be secretive and discreet about Regla de Ocha. But it's my family's spirituality, so I don't want to keep it secret.

I'm a Puerto Rican woman whose family has roots in Regla de Ocha, also known as Santeria.

I'm 100 percent in control of my artistry, music, and finances.

Everything really came together on '1992.' That isn't to dismiss my earlier works - they were great - but when I focused myself on hip-hop everything just clicked.

I model a lot and I'm very fortunate and blessed to be able to do as many partnerships I do for an underground musician such as myself.