322 quotes found
"A scratch is nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it out to the crowd. All you have to know is mathematically how many times to scratch it and when to let it go -- when certain things will enhance the record you're listening to. For instance, if you're playing a record with drums -- horns would sound nice to enhance it so you get a record with horns and slip it in at certain times."
"Man, I promise, she's so self conscious She has no idea what she doin' in college That major that she majored in don't make no money But she won't drop out, her parents will look at her funny. Now, tell me that ain't insecurr, The concept of school seemed so securr. Sophomore, three yurrs, ain't picked a carurr."
"It seems, we living the American dream But people highest up got the lowest self esteem. The prettiest people do the ugliest things For the road to riches and diamond rings."
"We'll buy a lot of clothes, but we don't really need 'em Things we buy to cover up what's inside 'Cause they made us hate ourself and love their wealth."
"God show me the way, because the Devil's trying to break me down The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now And I don't think there's nothing I can do now to right my wrongs I wanna talk to God, but I'm afraid 'cause we ain't spoke in so long."
"To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the strippers (Jesus walks with them) To the victims of welfare for we livin' in hell here, hell yeah (Jesus walks with them) Now, hear ye, hear ye, want to see Thee more clearly I know He hear me when my feet get weary 'Cause we're the almost nearly extinct We rappers is role models: we rap, we don't think I ain't here to argue about his facial features Or here to convert atheists into believers I'm just trying to say the way school needs teachers, The way Kathie Lee needed Regis, that's the way I need Jesus So here go my single, radio needs this They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus That means guns, sex, lies, videotape But if I talk about God, my record won't get played, huh?"
"I get down for my grandfather who took my mama Made her sit in that seat where white folks ain't want us to eat At the tender age of six, she was arrested for the sit-ins And with that in my blood, I was born to be different Now niggas can't make it to ballots to choose leadership But we can make it to Jacob's or to the dealership That's why I hear new music and I just don't be feeling it Racism's still alive, they just be concealin' it."
"My flow is in the pocket like Wallace, I got the bounce like hydraulics, I can't call it, I got the swerve like alcoholics. My freshman year, I was going through hella problems 'Til I built up the nerve to drop my ass up out of college."
"Always said if I rapped, I'd say somethin' significant But now I'm rapping 'bout money, hoes, and rims again."
"Told 'em I finished school, and I started my own business. They say, 'Oh you graduated?' No, I decided I was finished."
"Two words, Chi-town raised me crazy, So I live by two words: 'Fuck you, pay me' Screaming, 'Jesus, save me' You know how the game be, I can't let 'em change me 'Cause on judgment day, you gon' blame me Look, God, it's the same me And I basically know now, we get racially profiled 'Cuffed up and hosed down, pimped up and ho'd down Plus, I got a whole city to hold down From the bottom, so the top's the only place to go now."
"How do you console my mom or give her light support Tellin' her her son's on life support? And just imagine how my girl feel, On the plane scared as hell that her guy look like Emmett Till."
"And I still won't grow up, I'm a grown-ass kid Swear I should be locked up for stupid shit that I did But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire."
"Now that you're gone, it hit us Super hard on Thankgiving and Christmas, this can't be right. Yo, you heard the track I did man, 'This Can't Be Life'. Somebody please say grace so I can save face And have a reason to cover my face."
"I woke up early this morning with a new state of mind, A creative way to rhyme without usin' knives and guns. Keep your nose out the sky, keep your heart to God, And keep your face to the rising sun. I feel like one day you'll understand me, dawg You can still love your man and be manly, dawg"
"Now I could let these dream killers kill my self esteem, Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh."
"Ain't nobody expect Kanye to end up on top They expected that College Dropout to drop and then flop."
"I'm Kan, the Louis Vouitton don Bought my mom purse, now she Louis Vuitton mom I didn't play the hand I was dealt I changed my cards I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars I went to the malls and I balled too hard 'Oh My God, is that a Black card?' I turned around and replied 'Why yes, but I prefer the term African American Express.' Brains, power, and muscle like Dame, Puffy, and Russell Your boy back on his hustle, you know what I've been up to Killing y'all niggas on that lyrical shit Mayonnaise-colored Benz, I push Miracle Whips."
"And I heard 'em say Nothing's ever promised tomorrow or today From the Chi, like Tim, it's a harder way So this is in the name of love like Robert say Before you ask me to go get a job today, Can I at least get a raise on the minimum wage?"
"They say people in your life are seasons And anything that happens is for a reason The devil is alive, I feel him breathin' Claiming money is the key, so keep on dreamin' And put them lottery tickets just to tease us"
"Jay's favorite line: 'Dawg, in due time!' Now he look at me, like, 'Damn, dawg! You where I am!' A hip hop legend I think I died in that accident, 'cause this must be heaven."
"I'm tryin' to right my wrongs But it's funny, them same wrongs helped me write this song."
"How we stop the Black Panthers? Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer. Who gave Saddam anthrax? George Bush got the answers."
"I know it's past visiting hours, But can I please give her these flowers? You know the best medicine go to people that's paid. If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS And all the broke motherfuckers passed away, You telling me if my grandma was in the NBA, Right now, she'd be okay? But since she was just a secretary Working for the church for thirty-five years, Things supposed to stop right here?"
"Why everything that's supposed to be bad make me feel so good? Everything they told me not to is exactly what I would. Man, I tried to stop, man, I tried the best I could, but You make me smile."
"Little was known of Sierra Leone And how it connect to the diamonds we own Though it's thousands of miles away Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today Over here, it's a drug trade, we die from drugs Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs."
"I was sick about awards, couldn't nobody cure me Only playa that got robbed but kept all his jewelry Alicia Keys tried to talk some sense in him Thirty minutes later seein' there's no convincin' him What more could you ask for? The international asshole Who complain about what he is owed? And throw a tantrum like he is three years old You gotta love it though: somebody still speaks from his soul And wouldn't change by the change or the game or the fame When he came in the game, he made his own lane Now all I need is y'all to pronounce my name It's Kanye, but some of my plaques, they still say 'Kayne'."
"I wanna tell the whole world about a friend of mine This little light of mine and I'm finna let it shine I'm finna take y'all back to them better times I'm finna talk about my mama if y'all don't mind I was three years old when you and I moved to the Chi Late December, harsh winter gave me a cold You fixed me up something that was good for my soul Famous homemade chicken soup, can I have another bowl? You work late nights just to keep on the lights Mommy got me training wheels so I could keep on my bike And you would give anything in this world Michael Jackson leather and a glove, but didn't give me a curl And you never put no man over me And I love you for that, mommy, can't you see? Seven years old, caught you with tears in your eyes 'Cause a nigga cheatin', telling you lies, then I started to cry As we knelt on the kitchen floor I said mommy I'ma love you 'til you don't hurt no more And when I'm older, you ain't gotta work no more And I'ma get you that mansion that we couldn't afford."
"Forrest Gump mama said, 'Life is like a box of chocolates' My mama told me go to school, get your doctorate Somethin to fall back on, you could profit with But still supported me when I did the opposite Now I feel like there's things I gotta get, things I gotta do, just to prove to you You was getting through, can the choir, please Give me a verse of 'You Are So Beautiful To Me' Can't you see, you're like a book of poetry Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, turn one page and there's my mommy."
"Good morning and look at the valedictorian Scared of the future while I hop in the DeLorean Scared to face the world, complacent career student Some people graduate, but be still stupid"
"When it feel like living's harder than dyin' For me givin' up's way harder than tryin' Lauryn Hill said her heart was in Zion I wish her heart still was in rhymin' 'Cause who the kids gon' listen to, huh? I guess me if it isn't you Last week I paid a visit to the institute They got the dropout keepin' kids in the school."
"N-Now th-that that don't kill me Can only make me stronger I need you to hurry up now 'Cause I can't wait much longer I know I got to be right now 'Cause I can't get much wronger Man, I've been waiting all night now That's how long I've been on ya"
"And I'm back on my grind A psychic read my lifeline, told me in my lifetime My name would help light up the Chicago skyline And that's why I'm Seven o'clock, that's primetime Heaven'll watch, God calling from the hotlines Why he keep giving me hot lines? I'm a star, how could I not shine?"
"I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace I told God I'd be back in a second Man, it's so hard not to act reckless To whom much is given, much is tested Get arrested, guess until he get the message I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny And what I do? Act more stupidly Bought more jewelry, more Louis V My mama couldn't get through to me The drama, people suing me I'm on TV talking like it's just you and me I'm just saying how I feel, man I ain't one of the Cosbys, I ain't go to Hillman I guess the money should've changed him I guess I should've forgot where I came from."
"She don't believe in shooting stars But she believe in shoes and cars Order the hors d'oeuvres, views of the water Straight from a page of your favorite author And the weather's so breezy Man, why can't life always be this easy?"
"In my past, you on the other side of the glass Of my memory's museum I'm just sayin', hey, Mona Lisa Come home, you know you can't roam without Caesar."
"People talking shit, but when the shit hits the fan Everything I'm not made me everything I am. I know people wouldn't usually rap this But I got the facts to back this Just last year, Chicago had over six hundred caskets Man, killing's some wack shit Oh, I forgot, 'cept for when niggas is rappin' Do you know what it feel like when people is passin'? He got changed over his chains a block off Ashland I need to talk to somebody, pastor The church want tithe, so I can't afford to pay Pink slip on my door, 'cause I can't afford to stay My fifteen seconds up, but I got more to say-- 'That's enough Mr. West, please, no more today.'"
"I met this girl when I was three years old And what I loved most, she had so much soul She said, 'Excuse me, little homie, I know you don't know me But my name is Windy and I like to blow trees.' I told her in my heart is where she'll always be She never messed with entertainers 'cause they always leave She said, 'It felt like they walked and drove on me.' Knew I was gang affiliated, got on TV and told on me I guess that's why last winter she got so cold on me She said, 'Ye, keep making that platinum and gold for me!'"
"But if you really cared for her Then you wouldn't have never hit the airport to follow your dreams Sometimes I still talk to her But when I talk to her, it always seems like she talking 'bout me Every interview, I'm representin' you, makin' you proud Reach for the stars, so if you fall, you land on a cloud Jump in the crowd, spark your lighters, wave 'em around If you don't know by now, I'm talking 'bout Chi-Town."
"My big brother was B.I.G.'s brother So here's a few words from your kid brother If you admire somebody you should go ahead tell 'em People never get the flowers while they can still smell 'em."
"Last night I saw you in my dreams Now I can't wait to go to sleep And this life is all a dream So my real life starts when I go to sleep."
"Why would she make calls out the blue? Now I'm awake, sleepless in you."
"Chased the good life my whole life long Look back on my life, and my life gone Where did I go wrong? And my head keeps spinning Can't stop having these visions I gotta get with it."
"How could you be so Dr. Evil? You're bringin' out a side of me that I don't know I decided we wasn't gon' speak so Why we up 3 AM on the phone? Why do she be so mad at me for? Homie, I don't know, she's hot and cold I won't stop, won't mess my groove up 'Cause I already know how this thing go You run and tell your friends that you're leaving me They say that they don't see what you see in me You wait a couple of months, then you gon' see You'll never find nobody better than me."
"I'm a problem that'll never ever be solved I'm a monster, I'm a maven I know this world is changing Never gave in, never gave up I'm the only thing I'm afraid of No matter what, you'll never take that from me My reign is as far as your eyes can see, it's amazing."
"I'm not loving you, way I wanted to I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true I got something to lose, so I gotta move I can't keep myself and still keep you too No more wasting time, you can't wait for life We're just racing time, where's the finish line?"
"'Bout the baddest girl I ever seen Straight up out a movie scene Who knew she was a drama queen That'd turn my life to Stephen King's? Just looking at your history You're like the girl from Misery She said she ain't take it to this degree Well, let's agree to disagree You spoiled little LA girl You're just an LA girl, you need to stop it now."
"Let me know Do I still got time to grow? Things ain't always set in stone That be known, let me know Seems like street lights, glowing, happen to be Just like moments, passing, in front of me So I hopped in the cab and I paid my fare See, I know my destination, but I'm just not there In the streets I'm just not there Life's just not fair."
"On lonely nights, I start to fade Her love's a thousand miles away It's 4 AM and I can't sleep Her love is all that I can see Memories made in the coldest winter Goodbye, my friend, will I ever love again? If spring can take the snow away Can it melt away all our mistakes?"
"I fantasized 'bout this back in Chicago Mercy, mercy me, that Murciélago Beyond the truest Hey, teacher, teacher, tell me how do you respond to students? And refresh the page and restart the memory? Re-spark the soul and rebuild the energy? We stopped the ignorance, we killed the enemy Sorry for the night demons that still visit me The plan was to drink until the pain over But what's worse, the pain or the hangover?"
"Penitentiary chances, the devil dances And eventually answers to the call of autumn All them fallin' for the love of ballin' Got caught with thirty rocks, the cop look like Alec Baldwin Inter-century anthems based off inner-city tantrums Based off the way we was branded Face it, Jerome get more time than Brandon And at the airport, they check all through my bag And tell me that it's random Is hip-hop just a euphemism for a new religion? The soul music of the slaves that the youth is missing But this is more than just my road to redemption Malcolm West had the whole nation standing at attention. I was looking at my resume, feeling real fresh today They rewrite history, I don't believe in yesterday And what's a Black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach? I guess that's why they got me sitting in fuckin' coach."
"Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it, I guess every superhero need his theme music. ** Power No one man should have all that power The clock’s ticking, I just count the hours I embody every characteristic of the egotistic He knows he's so fucking gifted I just needed time alone with my own thoughts Got treasures in my mind, but couldn't open up my own vault My childlike creativity, purity, and honesty Is honestly being crowded by these grown thoughts Reality is catching up with me Taking my inner child, I'm fighting for custody. Lost in translation with a whole fuckin' nation They say I was the abomination of Obama's nation Well, that's a pretty bad way to start the conversation Now this'll be a beautiful death I'm jumping out the window, letting everything go."
"Restraining order, can't see my daughter Her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order Public visitation, we met at Borders Told her she take me back, I'll be more supportive I made mistakes, I bumped my head Them courts sucked me dry, I spent that bread She need her daddy, baby, please Can't let her grow up in that ghetto university."
"I'm living in the future so the present is my past. My presence is a present, kiss my ass."
"I'm so appalled, Spalding, ball Balding Donald Trump taking dollars from y'all."
"Put your hands to the constellations The way you look should be a sin, you're my sensation."
"May the Lord forgive us, may the gods be with us In that magic hour, I seen good Christians Make brash decisions, oh, she do it What happened to religion? Oh, she lose it She putting on her makeup, she casually allure Text message break-ups, the casualty of tour How she gon' wake up and not love me no more? I hit the Jamaican spot, at the bar, take a seat I ordered the jerk, she said you are what you eat You see, I always loved that sense of humor But tonight, you should have seen how quiet the room was."
"'You love me for me', could you be more phony?"
"And I always find, yeah, I always find something wrong You been puttin' up with my shit just way too long I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the most So I think it's time for us to have a toast Let's have a toast for the douchebags Let's have a toast for the assholes Let's have a toast for the scumbags Every one of them that I know Let's have a toast for the jerk-offs That'll never take work off Baby, I got a plan, Run away fast as you can."
"Never was much of a romantic I could never take the intimacy And I know I did damage 'Cause the look in your eyes is killing me I guess you knew of that advantage 'Cause you could blame me for everything And I don't know how I'ma manage If one day, you just up and leave."
"Have you lost your mind? Tell me when you think we crossed the line No more drugs for me, pussy and religion is all I need Grab my hand and baby, we'll live a hell of a lie I think I fell in love with a pornstar And got married in the bathroom Honeymoon on the dance floor And got divorced by the end of the night That's one hell of a life."
"On the bathroom wall I wrote "I'd rather argue with you than to be with someone else" I took a piss and dismiss it like "fuck it" And I went and found somebody else Fuck arguing and harvesting the feelings Yo, I'd rather be by my fuckin' self 'Til about 2 a.m. and I call back And I hang up and I start to blame myself Somebody help You weren't perfect, but you made life worth it Stick around, some real feelings might surface."
"You're my devil, you're my angel You're my heaven, you're my hell You're my now, you're my forever You're my freedom, you're my jail You're my lies, you're my truth You're my war, you're my truce You're my questions, you're my proof You're my stress and you're my masseuse Run from the lights, run from the night, run for your life."
"Pardon, I'm getting my scream on Enter the kingdom But watch who you bring home They see a black man with a white woman At the top floor they gon' come to kill King Kong Middle America packed in Came to see me in my black skin Number one question they're asking Fuck every question you asking If I don't get ran out by Catholics Here come some conservative Baptists Claiming I'm overreacting."
"Soon as they like you make 'em unlike you Cause kissing people's ass is so unlike you."
"My mama was raised in the era when Clean water was only served to the fairer skin Doing clothes, you would've thought I had help But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself. So go and grab the reporters So I can smash their recorders See, they'll confuse us with some bullshit Like the New World Order Meanwhile the DEA Teamed up with the CCA They tryna lock niggas up They tryna make new slaves See, that's that privately owned prison Get your peace today They prolly all in the Hamptons Bragging 'bout what they made."
""Baby girl, he's a loner, baby girl, he's a loner" Late-night organ donor, after that, he'll disown ya After that he's just hopeless, soul mates become soulless "When it's over it's over," and bitch, I'm back out my coma"
"Time to take it too far now Michael Douglas out the car now. Got the kids-and-the-wife life But can't wake up from the nightlife I'm so scared of my demons I go to sleep with a nightlight My mind move like a Tron bike Pop a wheelie on the Zeitgeist."
"Before the limelight stole ya Remember we were so young When I would hold you Before the blood on the leaves I know there ain't nothin' wrong with me Something strange is happening We could've been somebody Before they call lawyers Before you tried to destroy us How you gon' lie to the lawyer? It's like I don't even know ya I gotta bring it back to the 'nolia All in on that alimony, uh Yeah, yeah, she got you, homie, yeah 'Til death, but do your part Unholy matrimony."
"I know I got a bad reputation 'Walk around, always mad' reputation 'Leave a pretty girl sad' reputation Start a Fight Club, Brad reputation Close your eyes and let the word paint a thousand pictures One good girl is worth a thousand bitches Bound."
"We on an ultralight beam This is a God dream This is everything Deliver us serenity Deliver us peace Deliver us loving We know we need it That's why we need You now Pray for Paris, Pray for the parents."
"Up in the morning, miss you bad Sorry I ain't call you back, same problem my father had All this time, all he had And what he dreamed, all his cash Market crashed, hurt him bad People get divorced for that Dropped some stacks, pops is good Mama passed in Hollywood If you ask, lost my soul Drivin' fast, lost control Off the road, jaw was broke 'Member we all was broke?"
"Seem like the more fame, I only got wilder Hands up, we just doing what the cops taught us I've been outta my mind a long time I've been outta my mind a long time I be saying how I feel at the wrong time Might not come when you want but I'm on time. Name one genius that ain't crazy."
"See, before I let you go One last thing I need to let you know You ain't never seen nothing crazier than This nigga when he off his Lexapro Remember that last time in Mexico? Remember that last time, the episode?"
"Who your real friends? We all came from the bottom I'm always blaming you, but what's sad, you not the problem Real friends I guess I get what I deserve, don't I? Word on the streets is they ain't heard from him I guess I get what I deserve, don't I? Talked down on my name, throwed dirt on him."
"You tried to play nice, everybody just took advantage You left your fridge open, somebody just took a sandwich."
"Any rumor you ever heard about me was true and legendary I done got Lewinskys and paid secretaries For all my niggas with babies by bitches That use they kids as meal tickets Not knowin' the disconnect from the father The next generation will be the real victims Had my life threatened by best friends with selfish intents What I'm supposed to do? Ride around with a bulletproof car and some tints?"
"My wife said, I can't say no to nobody And at this rate, we gon' both die broke Got friends that ask me for money knowing I'm in debt And like my wife said, I still didn't say no People trying to say I'm going crazy on Twitter My friends' best advice was to stay low I guess it's hard to decipher all of the bills Especially when you got family members on payroll The media said it was outlandish spending The media said he's way out of control I can see a thousand years from now in real life Skate on the paradigm and shift it when I feel like Troll conventional thought, don't need to question I know it's antiquated so sometimes I get aggressive Thank God for Jay Electra, he down with the mission Did it with no permission, on our own conditions Most blacks with money have been beaten to submission Yeezy with the big house, did it way different Never listen to Hollywood producers Don't stare at money too long, it's Medusa The ultimate Gemini has survived I wasn't supposed to make it past 25."
"Most black men couldn't balance a checkbook But buy a new car, talking 'bout, 'How my neck look?' Well, it all looks great Four hundred years later, we buyin' our own chains The light is before us brothers, so the devil workin' hard Real family stick together and see through the mirage The smokescreens, perceptions of false reality I've been woken from enlightened man's dream Checkin' Instagram comments to crowdsource my self-esteem Let me not say too much or do too much 'Cause if I'm up way too much, I'm out of touch I'm prayin' a out-of-body experience will happen So the people can see my light, now it's not just rappin' God, I have humbled myself before the court Drop my ego when confidence was my last resort."
"My wife calling, screaming, say we 'bout to lose it all Had to calm her down 'cause she couldn't breathe Told her she could leave me now, but she wouldn't leave Oh, don't bring that up, that's gon' get me sentimental You know I'm sensitive, I got a gentle mental Every time somethin' happen they want me sent to mental We had an incident, but I cover incidentals You want me workin' on my messagin' When I'm thinkin' like George Jetson But soundin' like George Jefferson Then they questionin' my methods then Plus, what was meant to be was meant to be Even if, publicly, I lack the empathy I ain't finna talk about it 'nother four centuries."
"Sometimes I take all the shine Talk like I drank all the wine Years ahead but way behind I'm on one, two, three, four, five No half-truths, just naked minds Caught between space and time This not what they had in mind But maybe someday..."
"Niggas is savage, niggas is monsters Niggas is pimps, niggas is players 'Til niggas have daughters, now they precautious Father, forgive me, I'm scared of the karma 'Cause now I see women as somethin' to nurture Not somethin' to conquer Now she cuttin' class and hangin' with friends You break a glass and say it again She can't comprehend the danger she in If you whoop her ass, she move in with him Then he whoop her ass, you go through it again But how you the devil rebukin' the sin?"
"If you woke, then wake up With Judas, kiss and make up Even with the bitter cup Forgave my brothers and drank up Everything old shall now become new The leaves’ll be green, bearing the fruit Love God and our neighbor, as written in Luke The army of God, and we are the truth."
"Lifelike, this is what your life like, try to live your life right People really know you, push your buttons like typewrite This is like a movie, but it's really very lifelike Every single night, right, every single fight, right? I was looking at the 'Gram and I don't even like likes I was screaming at my dad, he told me, 'It ain't Christ-like' But nobody never tell you when you're being like Christ."
"Nothing worse than a hypocrite Change, he ain't really different He ain't even try to get permission Ask for advice and they dissed him Said I'm finna do a gospel album What have you been hearing from the Christians? They'll be the first one to judge me Make it feel like nobody love me."
"First, it go viral, then they get digital Then they get critical, no, I'm not doin' no interview Mask on my face, you can't see what I'm finna do Had to move away from people that's miserable And this money could never neglect me I pray that my family, they never resent me And she fell in love with me soon as she met me."
"Genius gone clueless, it's a whole lot to risk Alcohol anonymous, who's the busiest loser? Heated by the rumors, read into it too much Fiendin' for some true love, asked Kim, 'What do you love?' Hard to find what the truth is, but the truth was that the truth suck Always seem to do stuff, but this time it was too much."
"I don't want my mind alerting People sayin' tweeting gonna make you die early How 'bout have my heart hurting? Hold it all inside, that could make you die early I be going through things I had to wrote Celebrity drama that only Brad'll know Too many family secrets, somebody passing notes Things I cried about, I find laughable."
"Sittin' by myself, I'm just thinking About all I've been through, I wish I was dreaming Man, it's hard to be an angel when you surrounded by demons I watched so many people leave I see 'em change by the season, that's mama's sеasoning God got you, the devil's watching, he just peeking in I know I madе a promise that I'd never let the reaper in But lately, I've been losin' all my deepest friends And lately, I've been swimmin' on the deepest end It's just drugs, it ain't no hugs, it ain't no love there You been down so much you don't even know what's upstairs Suicidal thoughts got you wonderin' what's up there And if I talk to Christ, can I bring my mother back to life? And if I die tonight, will I see her in the afterlife? But back to reality, where everything's a tragedy."
"Startin' to feel like you ain't been happy for me lately, darling Remember when you used to come around and serenade me But I guess it's gone different, in a different direction, lately Trying to do the right thing with the freedom that you gave me Wrap your arms around with your mercy I give up on doing things my way."
"Here go all your problems again Three, two, one, you're pinned Don't you wish the night would go numb? I've been feelin' low for so long I ain't had a high in so long I been in the dark for so long Night is always darkest 'fore the dawn Gotta make my mark 'fore I'm gone I don't wanna die alone Sadness settin' in again Three, two, one, you're pinned Took your thoughts and penciled 'em in Should've wrote 'em down in pen And maybe they'd come to life."
"Mama, your son in the red hat Had suffered set-backs, had 'shouldn't-have-said-thats' Had made everyone mad Give 'em enough of they own rope to hang 'em with The paparazzi never really got what my angle is They treat my married life like some type of entanglement."
"You know why my spirit's callin' Darkness can't take light from me Haven't you gone far enough? Sacrificed the ones you love Gave up on your sanity Like some twisted fantasy What would I say to everything? Your actions cost everything."
"When I had my accident, I found out at that moment nothing in life is promised except death."
"If you have the opportunity to play this game called life, you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don't appreciate their moment until it's passed. I know everybody asked me the question, they wanted to know, 'What, Kan, I know he's gonna wild out, I know he's gonna do something crazy.' Everybody wanted to know what I would do, if I didn't win... I guess we'll never know!"
"I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.' George Bush doesn't care about black people."
"Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"
"Know your worth! People always act like they're doing more for you than you're doing for them. Ask yourself this question, "Why would they do that?" Obviously, you bring something to the table for them to even do business with you."
"Life is 5% what happens and 95% how you react!"
"Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?"
"I refuse to accept other people's ideas of happiness for me. As if there's a "one size fits all" standard for happiness"
"I hate when I'm on a flight and I wake up with a water bottle next to me like oh great now I gotta be responsible for this water bottle"
"I am Warhol. I am the number 1 most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh. Walt Disney. Nike. Google. The music and the clothing are just as important. That's what makes you hip hop. You show people that you're hip hop by what you wear. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78tT_YxF_c You ain't got the answers Sway! [In response to Calloway suggesting he start a clothing company on his own"
"Man, let me tell you something about George Bush and oil money and Obama and no money. People want to say Obama can't make these moves or he's not executing. That's because he ain't got those connections. Black people don't have the same level of connections as Jewish people. Black people don't have the same connections as oil people."
"When I was trying to serve multiple gods it drove me crazy. That's like the greatest chef in the world trying to make a seven-course meal and serve it at eight different houses."
"You know, he made these peace treaties,[...] I just think it was to make money. I just think that that’s what they’re about is making money. I don’t think that they have the ability to make anything on their own. I think they’re born into money, and it makes me feel like they weren’t serving my boy Trump the way they could’ve."
"This ain’t a game. Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war. Now gone get you some business."
"I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can't be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda"
"I see good things about Hitler also. I love everyone. Jewish people are not going to tell me you can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography. But this guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone that I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that."
"I like Hitler."
"They did good things too, we've got to stop dissing the Nazis all the time."
"I don't like the word evil next to Nazis. I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis."
"He didn’t kill six million Jews. That's just factually incorrect. The Holocaust is not what happened. Let's look at the facts of that. Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities."
"I'm done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table. Especially Hitler."
"I'm never apologizing for my Jewish comments"
"I'm a Nazi"
"I love Hitler now what bitches"
"Some of my best friends are Jewish and I don't trust any of them"
"Elon stole my Nazi swag at the inauguration"
"Donald Trump, please free my brother Puff"
"Im [sic] never apologizing for my Jewish comments I can [say] whatever the fuck I wanna say forever [where's] my fucking apology for freezing my accounts suck my dick [how's] that for an apology"
"Hitler was sooooo fresh"
"call me Yaydolf Yitler"
"Adam Sandler Thank you for the love"
"After further reflection I've come to the realization that I'm not a Nazi"
"The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words matter. A threat to Jewish people ended once in a genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence [...] You are a father. Please stop."
"He is opening Donda Academy, a vocational school in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, and plans to build a series of shelters — which he calls “Dondasteries” — to provide safe spaces for those in need."
"With Kanye, the arrogant thing always comes up, but think about what that does for your ability to make art. He doesn't even question himself as to whether he can do it or not. He does it fast and good, and he doesn't stop on the side of the road to wonder if he can do it."
"The one thing I fear for [West] the most is if you keep talking about being the greatest, people eventually are going to want to watch you fail. Those who crash and burn are far more interesting to watch than those who actually succeed."
"I've met with Kanye [...] The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful, and the way that [West] can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable."
"He's a jackass."
"I like Kanye, He's a Chicago guy. Smart. He's very talented. He is a jackass, but he's talented."
"@KanyeWest asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of “Iron Man” from the US Festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many. He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!"
"We can't stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile ... but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk. Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That's twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence. His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews. I don't know what's worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point. Silence is complicity."
"Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on twitter and it’s not even trending. Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud"
"During Kanye West’s spectacular plummet last fall, my friends and I would often marvel at the latest outrageous thing he’d said. And we would send around clips of what were, in hindsight, terribly suspect comments he’d previously made. One such example was “I am not a fan of books,” which Ye told an interviewer upon the publication of his own book, Thank You and You’re Welcome. “I am a proud non-reader of books,” he continued. That statement strikes me as one of the more disturbing things he’s ever said. Ye’s patently reprehensible anti-Semitic tirades rightly drew the world’s scorn. But his anti-book stance is disturbing because it says something about not only Ye’s character but the smugly solipsistic tenor of this cultural moment. We have never before had access to so many perspectives, ideas, and information. Much of it is fleetingly interesting but ultimately inconsequential—not to be confused with expertise, let alone wisdom. This much is widely understood and discussed. The ease with which we can know things and communicate them to one another, as well as launder success in one realm into pseudo-authority in countless others, has combined with a traditional American tendency toward anti-intellectualism and celebrity worship. Toss in a decades-long decline in the humanities, and we get our superficial culture in which even the elite will openly disparage as pointless our main repositories for the very best that has been thought."
"This is classic anti-Semitism. There it goes again, the age-old canard that Jews are all-powerful and control the levers of power in government. As a celebrity with a wide following, Kanye West should know better. We hope that he will take responsibility for his words, understand why they are so offensive, and apologize to those he has offended."
"[H]urtful, offensive and wrong. They perpetuate stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years. Words like this tear at the fabric of the Black-Jewish relationship. The Black and Jewish communities must stand together through incidents like this to make clear that trafficking in hateful stereotypes is unacceptable — and that the words of one entertainer do not reflect the views of an entire community."
"In the past week, Ye has spread some of the most vile and age-old stereotypes about Jews to his hundreds of millions of followers. There should be no place for this kind of hate in our public discourse. We support every entertainer’s right to free speech, but no one has a free pass to target and demonize a minority group with such malice. We are gravely concerned about the impact of Ye’s statements — and how they will affect his fans, particularly young people. At the same time, we hope this can be a moment that ultimately creates better awareness about the dangers of antisemitism for Ye, his fans, and other entertainers. We remain open to dialogue with him about how harmful and fallacious his comments are."
"I think it’s unconstitutional when art is used against an artist to implicate them in a crime. The First Amendment provides that people have free expression, and I think with Black men the lens — we’re evaluated almost exclusively through a criminal lens. And so what would be art in the eyes of, or at the creation of, one person becomes a crime when it’s created by a young Black man. Again, it’s good that the judges pushed back against those attacks on 2Pac’s artistry and his constitutional right, but we’ve seen that since that time, prosecutors have continued to use rap lyrics to try to chill free expression."
"Rap music is the only vital form of music introduced since punk rock."
"So if I act like a pimp ain't nothin to it gangsta rap made me do it If I call you a nappy headed ho ain't nothin to it gangsta rap made me do it If I shoot up your college ain't nothin to it gangsta rap made me do it If I rob you of knowledge ain't nothin to it gangsta rap made me do it"
"But as with yesterday's comic books, the fact that future generations will snicker at gangsta rap's glorification of violence and over-the-top misogyny doesn't mean that Bill Cosby is wrong to deplore it today - and the fact Americans seem to cope with the steady coarsening of our popular culture by becoming steadily more jaded about just about everything ought to be cause for concern, rather than complacency."
"The only trend I do not like in rap right now is the message rap. I consider the message rap the equivalent of what strings were to rock 'n' roll in the late '50s - a capitulation to the adult norm who can't accept the music on its own terms. The people who considered "Sixty Minute Man" by Billy Ward and the Dominoes, "Annie Had a Baby" - as the pinnacles of '50s R&B now are super uptight over the - in quotes - hotel/motel lyrics of rap. Rap is definitely as true to the essence of rock 'n roll as anything that's out there today."
"[T]he hip hop nation is wonderful. Surely there are those who would demonize this group of young people, but they are only doing what our ancestors have always done: used what they have to get where they need to go."
"The history of conscious hip-hop is interesting. The best MCs in the world have always — when I first came in the business — always needed to have something conscious, something dealing with the community, something uplifting, something positive. Even if the majority of the content was negative, you had to have that. And that changed over time. You had Tupac and Biggie came out, and then you had Jay-Z. And the best rapper became about who was the tough guy, you know? Who's busting they gun off or something like that. And now you have Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Wale, J. Cole. They're talking a lot about partying; you know, sex, having fun. And those are the guys who are considered the best. People consider conscious rap now, in hip-hop circles, to feel condescending or feel like not a part of the mainstream. So the challenge for me is, "How do I be as good or better than these rappers out here?" and "How do I stay relevant with my music still being considered conscious?""
"These artists talk about 'ho this, bitch this, skank this' and all the other stuff. They're talking about all our mothers, all our sisters. They're talking about their own mothers, grandmothers. You have to have knowledge of self and knowledge of history. Because if you had that you would not use that terminology. You would not even be in that mindset. And we're in a time when young black boys and girls want to be pimps and strippers, because that is what they see. . . . Something is definitely wrong."
"Young black kids didn't grow up wanting to be a pimp or a stripper like they do now. You might think I'm making generalizations, but I don't think I am. That's how serious this stuff is. When I was young, cats going to college got as much (love) as the ones who could rap or play ball."
"Huey: Who cares about what Hip-Hop is supposed to be? I’m talking about what it is. Most of rap music is violent and stupid, and that ain’t the media’s fault!"
"Huey: Look, rap, for the most part, has been stuck in the “Gangsta Rap” era for over ten years now – mostly because it sells so well to white kids. But rap doesn’t clearly draw the line between fact and fiction. The whole point seems to be to make people believe that made-up gangster tales are true."
"New music is often popular for the very fact that earlier generations find it shocking; this was "our" music, misunderstood by others. What most people heard was just a loud of shouting and swearing; they thought the music appealed because of its shock value. They couldn't have been more wrong. These rappers were bright, street smart, and articulate. Their rhymes encapsulated the experiences of being young, male, and black in a way that simply didn't exist elsewhere in the media. This was a time when banana skins were still being thrown at black players at football matches, when Nelson Mandela was still in prison, and when the beating of Rodney King by the LAPD was about to send shockwaves around the world. The sense of disenfranchisement, that you couldn't rely on the state for help, was very real."
"The potential for [rappers] to deliver a message of extraordinary power, that gets people thinking [is there]. The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable."
"This is hip hop. Hands up, if you're forever a fan of hip hop. I wake up hip hop, go to sleep hip hop. Dream about hip hop, because I am hip hop."
"Please, please don't call rap music; it's and some of it's groovy. But if you can't hum it, it's not music."
"Many black rappers--including Ice-T and Sister Souljah--contend that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum. The white politicians, the artists complain, neither understand the music nor desire to hear what's going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form."
"Rap — so many words, so little said. What rap did that was impressive was to show there are so many tone-deaf people out there. All they need is a drum beat and somebody yelling over it and they're happy. There’s an enormous market for people who can't tell one note from another."
"Because most rappers started out with a DJ playing records for musical accompaniment (no live musicians), many rap records are based around the chords and bass lines of popular songs."
"Hip-hop is a rejection of a lot of the tropes of traditional musicianship."
"What people don't understand about rap, is that it brings back old music from every walk of life: R&B, country, you name it. If it was good music back in the old days, we bring it back. A lot of the tunes that get sampled are songs that nobody remembers any more. Rap music is like bringing to life the music of people who were dead. It's a resurrection style of music."
"My style is too developed to be arrested It's the freestyle, so now it's out on parole They tried to hold my soul in a holding cell so I would sell but I bonded with a break and had enough to make bail"
"But once the man got you well he altered the native Told her if she got an image and a gimmick That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy Now I see her in commercials, she's universal She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle Now she be in the burbs lickin' rock and dressin' hip And on some dumb shit"
"I fight, with myself in the ring of doubt and fear The rain ain't gone, but I can still see clear As a child, given religion with no answer to why Just told believe in Jesus cause for me he did die Curiosity killed the catechism Understanding and wisdom became the rhythm that I played to And became a slave to master self A rich man is one with knowledge, happiness and his health My mind had dealt with the books of Zen, Tao the lessons of the Koran and Bible, to me they all vital And got truth within 'em, gotta read them boys You just can't skim 'em, different branches of belief But one root that stem 'em, but people of the venom try to trim 'em And use religion as an emblem When it should be a natural way of life Who am I or they to say to whom you pray ain't right? That's who got you doin' right and got you this far Whether you say "in Jesus name" or "Al hum du'Allah" Long as you know it's a being that's supreme to you You let that show towards others in the things you do Cause when the trumpets blowin', 24 elders surround the throne Only 144,000 gon get home"
"Granted we known each other for some time but it don't take a whole day to recognize sunshine"
"The revolution will not be televised The revolution is here"
"The perseverence of a rebel, I drop heavier levels of unseen or heard, a king with words Can't knock the hustle, but I've seen street dreams deferred Dark spots in my mind where the scene occurred Some say I'm too deep, but I'm in too deep to sleep"
"I'm the truth, across the table from corporate lies Immortilized by the realness I bring to it If revolution had a movie I'd be theme music My music, you can either fight, fuck, or dream to it"
"This industry will make you lose intensity"
"Cause federal and state was built for a black fate Her emptiness was filled with beatings and court dates They fabricated cases, hoping one would stick And said she robbed places that didn't exist In the midst of threats on her life and being caged with Aryan whites Through dark halls of hate she carried the light"
"The chosen one from the land of the frozen sun, where drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones"
"Never looking back, or too far in front of me. The present is a gift, and I just wanna be."
"We got arms but wont reach for the skies"
"Be the author of your own horoscope"
"We write songs about wrong cause its hard to see right"
"I look into my daughter's eyes. And realize that I'ma learn through her. The Messiah, might even return through her. If I'ma do it, I gotta change the world through her"
"Yo...on the amen, corner I stood lookin' at my former hood Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it Mixin down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered I choreographed seven steps to heaven and hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leavened Veteran of a cold war its Chica-i-go for What I know or, whats known"
"Tried to call, or at least beep the lord, but didn't have a touch-tone"
"Let the truth be told from young souls that become old From days spent in the jungle, where must one go To find it, time is real, we can't rewind it Out of everybody I met, who told the truth? Time did"
"Took a picture of the truth and tried to develop it Had proof, but it was only recognized by the intelligent Took the negative and positive, cause niggas got to live Said I got to get more than I'm given Cause truth'll never be heard in religion After searching the world, on the inside what was hidden?It was the truth"
"This is street rad-i-o, For unsung hero, Driving in the regal, trying to stay legal, My daughter found Nemo, I found the new primo, Yeah, you know how we do, we do it for the people.""
"I think and speak clearer since I cut the dairy out. I can breathe better and perform at a better rate, and my voice is clearer. I can explore different things with my voice that I couldn’t do because of my meat and dairy ingestion. I am proud and blessed to be a vegetarian, everything became clear."
"I went to the movies — it was Kanye, myself and John Mayer, and we went to see "Ray." We were watching it, and I was just inspired by the movie, just as a musician and as an artist, I felt inspired. We left there and went straight to the studio. Kanye started cooking up this beat and started doing this chant, like, "Go, go, go," and while we were sitting there thinking what to write, John Mayer said, "You could write about your fantasy." And I was like, "Am I going to let John Mayer come up with the concept for this joint? This is hip-hop." But John Mayer is a very talented brother and you don't know where your blessings are going to come from. He was singing, and we made him a sample on it, going 'Go.' So it all came together and now we have the song 'Go!,' which is about going to my fantasy."
"Recently, John and I got to go to Selma and perform “Glory” on the same bridge that Dr. King and the people of the civil rights movement marched on 50 years ago. This bridge was once a landmark of a divided nation, but now is a symbol for change. The spirit of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and social status. The spirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South Side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life, to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression, to the people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy. This bridge was built on hope, welded with compassion, and elevated by love for all human beings."
"If you were to secretly ask the most praised hip-hop producers, if given a top three, who they fear the most, Dilla’s name would chart on everyone’s list, hands down. ~ ?uestlove, drummer from The Roots"
"All the greats respected him the most. ... Common actually stayed with him in his last days -- they both stayed in L.A. together -- and we would go over there when we were working on the album. And I remember him giving me drums. It was such an honor for him to actually give me drums because I'd actually stolen so many drums off of his beat CDs. (laughs) ... Let's also talk about how many rappers bit his style. He even inspired a lot of rappers. The way he would space his words on the beat. The patterns he would get... All that. Whenever people do that, that's Jay Dee all day long. ~ Kanye West, Rapper and Producer, from an interview with Semtex on BBC Radio, February 18th, 2006"
"I can't begin to explain the influence his mind and ear has had on my band, myself, and the careers of so many other artists. The most humble, modest, worthy and gifted beatmaker I've known...and definitely the best producer on a mic. ~ Black Thought, MC from The Roots"
"When I found out Dilla passed, I was in Australia. I did not want to do the show anymore, my mind was heavy. Dilla existed in all of us and I felt a piece of myself was missing. How could I give them my all? But then I thought about Jay on stage in a wheelchair. I HAD to perform. The musicians and the true listeners already knew. I have to spread his legacy to the world, forever. The sounds from The Roots, myself, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and of course the slum [Ed. note, Slum Village.] owe to his legacy. Now we are Jay Dee. Rest in peace, Dilla, we love you. ~ Talib Kweli, in one of his blog entries on http://www.talibkweliblog.com"
"Q-Tip comes in the room and says, "I want you to hear something". I'm hella excited 'cause either it's a new Tribe song or it's a beat for me. He tells the kid to put the tape in. He does and I hear a ghostly piano loop that has some shakers in it. Too Salsa for me. That was "Runnin'"! He plays another joint and I go crazy over it. That was "The Jam". He explains to me that the noise I keep flippin' over [is] someone holding the repeat button on the SP when its in 1/32! He played another joint, wasn't my speed. I didn't like the Beastie Boy sample at the top. That was "Drop!" The next joint played and only played for 15 seconds. I wanted that one. He explained that it was just an interlude though. I still wanted it. The next joint was hard, organ sounding joint. Sounds like something a west coast artist would take... w:Ice Cube maybe. That was "Gotta Kick Something That Means Something"! I took three tracks and told Tip that I wanted to add more tracks to the album. He said cool! Yes!!! I got three tracks from Tip!!! Tip looks at me and says, "I didn't make em...he did." I look at the kid and speak to him and he says "What Up Doe?" "What up, kid? What's your name?" "Jay Dee.""
"I knew him for a good three or four years before I knew he was sick! I was blown back by that, man. I never knew he was sick – he always kinda hid it from me. His music will always be alive and well, and I will make sure to that. He was one of the greatest, man. He was the greatest to ever do it, for the new cats. And for his mother to tell me that I was his favorite producer – I was like ‘Wow, that’s dope, man’. He really took it there. He kinda broadened me and opened my eyes again, and got me standing up straight on my toes, ‘cos that dude was really serious with it. ~ Pete Rock"
"Peter Rosenberg: How do you rank Dilla [out of the] all time producers?"
"Dilla was a good cat. He looked out for me, showing me how to work the SP1200, the (MPC) 3000, he used to set me up in his basement, and leave me there all night, while he went out the bar or to mess with some chicks. He was real open-hearted, but he could get on some wild shit. We fell out for a minute, but we mended it and it was all good. He just wanted people to hear the music, but I seen him snap off on cats, he was good people though. He just wanted to make music and do his thing. ~ DJ House Shoes"
"One time we were in the studio and didn't have a drum machine, and he went inside the booth and played the drums on his body. He knew how to EQ it right and everything, like, "Okay, he just made a song using his body." [laughs] It was serious. ~ James Poyser (from the Ruff Draft re-issue liner notes)."
""That’s how me and Dilla always worked, we had a crazy chemistry. We would just sit there cracking jokes, you know, smoking, he got the headphones on. He’d come up with a beat in like 10 minutes, take the headphones off, the beat’s banging through the speakers. Load it up, make sure the mic’s on, show me where to press play, where to stop at, he’d press record and go upstairs, I’d lay the verse, he’d come back down like done and done. Load the next one up, he’d talk on the phone, I’d lay another song. That’s just how we worked." ~ Phat Kat (on recording the Dedication to the Suckers EP in one night)"
"I got a buzz bigger than a beehive, cough up my cookies let loose what's on the inside - the Tussin, the Tussin! put it down like it was nothin', Robocop couldn't stop me from pukin' and flushin', no balls to be bustin', no fightin', no cussin', just love for a drug called Robitussin!"
"I know I seem like a geek, but I'm deeper, dude; never got picked in gym, I was a weaker dude, so I built myself a bong out of beaker tubes, then I smoked all them bitches like I'm Pikachu."
"I'm the sativa cyborg, I smell that shit like a wine cork. I hope they never legalize, then High Times won't have anything to fight for."
"Chilling like Hoth, they can't touch us with they blasters, we learned at the feet of the masters - it's an old Jedi mind trick!"
"And I can see clearly now like Hubble; shoved off the shuttle, here's my rebuttal: it's a planet!"
"This song goes out to those with coke bottle glasses, to all you lonely kids who were the last picked in gym classes. We got your back, detract your malefactors - all you up in the back, unite like Thundercats!"
"My flow is so intense that I'll overflow your buffer, corrupt your stack pointer, makin' all your data suffer.""
"And all you sucker MCs just can't compare to a Shire b-boy with the shaggy hair, we're two hobbit rappers with the savoire-faire, Rohan Riders put your fist in the air!"
"Nerdcore hip hop, other rappers run in fear..."
"I shalt not front a little cause I'm Frontalot, I climbed Mount Sinai, got high at the top, blew a cloud straight up and the voice I heard said, 'you were born to front,' I said 'word!'"
"Sitting in her room upstairs, watching her wind up the buns in her hair, I declare that I'd like to be Luke - unless that's a little bit too perverted for you."
"My backpack's got jets, well I'm Boba the Fett. Well I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt, to finance my 'Vette. wicky-wicky-woo! Well I chill in deep space. A mask is over my face. Well I deliver the prize, but I still narrow my eyes, 'Cause my time, I don't like to waste. get down!"
"I got brains, fuck Bs and Cs, I got a grade point average higher than Hendrix on New Year's Eve!"
"Look, I ain't Thomas Dolby; science doesn't blind me. You think you're smart? Form a line behind me."
"Nerdcore could rise up, it could get elevated; we consider the possibleness of this not overstated."
"For punk MCs who playa-hate, we got one word: EXTERMINATE!"
"'What the fuck is entropy?' I hear the people still exclaiming. It seems I gotta start the explaining."
"I got mad hoes and I got mad bitches, I'm coding in C and I branch with switches."
"I got five hard drives with eighty-nine gigabytes, I eat databases, networks, and web sites."
"My new home is a studio on Cybertron, my peeps are the Autobeat poets, fuck the Wackacons!""
"Nobody wanted to dance, when i had a lot of time on my hands, now i have a lot of hands on my time, and everybody wants to be a friend of mine, wo wo."
"She was, fine as fuck I wanted to sex the ho up. She said "let's hit the parking lot so I can sick your duck.""
"Don't want to meet your daddy, just want you in my caddy."
"I bust raps like the boys bust gat shit."
"It took you momma nine months to make it, but it only took that nigga thirty minutes to take it."
"Ya white tee, well to me, look like a night gown, make ya mama proud, take that thang two sizes down."
"Daddy Fat Sacks B-I-G B-O-I, its that same motherfucker that put them knuckles to your eye."
"You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather"
""Forever" never seems that long until you're grown"
"[Us] Fuck the news, fuck the critics, and fuck their views, and if you sit and let it happen then fuck you too."
"[Stolen Memories]Life is so good its like I stole the memories."
"[Truman Show] We think that we see/ but we can't see the half/ we think we learn/ but we can't do the math."
"[Better Days]We pave the streets/ To walk between us, we pay for these/ Lock the doors and teach our kids to be neighbourly"
"[Broken Record] Truth is ain't much has changes /Still seems that Kraft Dinner sucks the same."
"[Never Enough] A funny thing about the money thing is/ You need a little bit/ Then a little more than a little bit"
"[Never Enough] Take Love/ Any form of the word, many shapes of/ So perfect, Hollywood ending/ All you need is love, go and ask John Lennon/ Love make a man ill, make a man kill/ Make a man take a stand making mountains out of ant hills"
"[Never Enough] Stupid mother fucker asked what do I make/ I make music that makes stupid mother fuckers think straight"
"I apologize for every choice I might have made to hurt your feelings or your health or ever bothered someone else your style of living is your choice and we all want a different kind so please love all your faults I'll do the same with what we find."
"To be friends you got to be strangers first."
"And don't forget ladies and gentlemen you have to buy this new thing that you don't have and if you have it well actually the new better version of the thing that you have well it just came out"
"Towers get higher, Jobs get cheaper, Highways get wider, Love gets deeper"
"Everyone's time come sometime come But if ya wanna speed it up, yeah, then grab a gun!"
"You got to pray to Hip Hop almighty, We bless the microphone nightly, Open up the lyric from inside me, it’s our calling that’s why we say, You got to pray"
"I got hip-hop taste buds, I wanna hear that bass when I make love, I wanna hear some lyrics when I wake up, Write rhymes to get me through a break up"
"I do damage like a paralytic, paramedic with no anaesthetic.I’ll make origami of your lyrics.' 'Geez that’s good Suffa, what is it?' 'It’s a swan!Oi Suffa you can’t sing!' 'Yeah I can’t even hum a tune, but I make this crowd bounce like bed springs on a honeymoon."
"One chance, so I live for the moment, I’m just one man what I wouldn’t give for this moment, We got one world; still we take it in stride, In this one life we stand still waiting to die."
"The sky's not falling it's just angels committing suicide, Cos they're so saddened by humans using genocide, As a political tool, considering all you humans have, The way you act belittles you all."
"'This is a circus act this is absurd but fact, one critic or cynic for every that learned to rap, one lyric with gimmick for every with purpose that, furthered rap culture round the earth and back."
"We paved roads with our soul and suffering, For the stage coach carrying hip hop to roll on up in."
"And I’m a chase that feeling, Take that pain and replace that feeling, And I’m a take that healing then, Stand so tall they’ll have to raise that ceiling.Treating every breath as my first and day as my last.Wake up, roll out of bed, throw on some roll-on, Roll up to the studio, It’s got a hold on me."
"Terror cleared the skyline and anger clouded judgement, So they spent a thousand nighttimes in the desert fighting something, That they couldn’t find, that made it something that they couldn’t fight,"
"I saw [the Vibe article], but I don't really comment on that because I know it's not true."
"When people ask me, I tell them, "Hey don't believe all that mess. We're close and people took it the wrong way.""
"It was a painful time for me and my family. That's why I'm proud to say I'm a strong person. I'm a survivor and I can handle anything. I'm very confident about that. I come from a very strong family and they are always there to protect me. If I need any help I'll just call on my mummy or daddy or my brother to whom I'm very close."
"I'm seventeen now so I've grown in a lot of ways, artistically and vocally."
"Honestly, there were negative things that were said in the past and that was one reason that I did feel it was best for me to move on. That was a rough period for me and my family, a very tumultuous time. But I'm a very strong person. I think it says a lot about me that I'm here today and I answer the questions."
"I knew at a very young age this was what I wanted to do. I started singing at six so I knew by the time I was eight."
"I breathe to perform, to entertain, I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I’m just a really happy girl right now. I honestly love every aspect of this business. I really do. I feel very fulfilled and complete."
"There's a dark side to me that comes out in everything I do."
"I’ve always been mysterious. My mother and father always used to ask me, "What are you thinking, what’s going on?" There are times when I don’t understand myself, you know what I mean?"
"I have black-out shades in my apartment, I push a button, it’s totally dark. I think I’m a bit of a vampire in real life, and there are times when I just want to be myself. I wanna be alone."
"It is dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I am swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling."
"When I went to shoot the film I was very nervous. I kept telling myself, "This is it. This is what you've wanted, this is the real deal. Now you've gotta do your thing. You've gotta put all of you in this and hopefully they'll like you." And for people to say it's impressive and "You're so natural", I mean, it's the best feeling in the world. I feel like hard work, you know, payed off."
"I waited for the right project for the right time and it just came together."
"I was actually just blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful veterans and people that I had great chemistry with and that were just open to me."
"Playing off of people that great was great for me."
"I love Eddie Murphy so I wanted to do a song on the soundtrack."
"I have a few childhood nicknames. One is "Babygirl". My father gave that to me when I was born. He said, "I have a beautiful baby girl" and that one stuck with me. A lot of people still call me "Babygirl"."
"I love baths. Absolutely love baths. I like to just draw a nice warm bath with a lot of bubbles, get a few sweets, maybe put them by the bath, put on really good music and chill."
"Don't like motorbikes. Don't like them, I've been on a few, even in a few videos and they scare me. They scare the hell out of me and you know in videos, course I've got "the cool face on" and cool breezing it, tough, glasses, but underneath I'm screaming."
"I feel like I'm really just getting started. I don't know what's going to happen in the next five or ten years."
"I'm the interpreter. I'm the one who takes your words and brings them to life. I was trained to sing and dance and laugh, and that's what I want to do."
"Always be true to yourself."
"Well, I think that the image is a part of me. I wear the baggy pants, the hats, the whole nine. And you know, I may add a little for the excitement and the intrigue in the videos, but my family has told me that little air of mystery that surrounds me is for real."
"I don't feel I made any sacrifices at all. I'm doing my best to juggle."
"I think it's important to take a break, you know, from the public eye for a while, and give people a chance to miss you. I want longevity. I don't want to get out there and run myself ragged and spread myself thin."
"There is a bit of acting involved when you get in front of a camera for a video. Even when you perform onstage, you're putting on a show."
"Keep working hard and you can get anything that you want."
"Aaliyah's loss is major, because she was one of R&B and urban music's brightest stars. She was an excellent singer, a talented performer, and a great actress, whose success had only just begun. There will be a huge gaping hole in urban music now that she's no longer with us."
"Aaliyah is an excellent role model, because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album entitled Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. And then her second album, One in a Million went double platinum. She had the leading role in Romeo Must Die, which was a box office success. She's won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself in a very professional manner. She was well spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire her."
"I don't know if Aaliyah's accident will change the way that celebrities fly, but I hope it will make people realize that life is very short, and that you have to appreciate everything each day. And when you are making decisions, to make sure that they are safe decisions and smart decisions. But there has been a long history of celebrities dying in plane crashes."
"I think that Aaliyah's death could definitely be compared to Selena's, because of her powerful music and lyrics, and her huge fan base. For urban music and hip hop, we also make the comparison to The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac."
"I think that Aaliyah's death will always leave a hole in urban music, and I think that people will always miss her, but I hope that the positive image that she represented will carry on, and that young people will still aspire to the greatness that she exuded."
"I watched her grow up, and, with the rest of the world, saw her achieve success with her very special and unique talents. From an early age, I knew she had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift."
"She had a refreshing outlook for one so young, with true respect for her art and for her elders. She brought joy to my heart, and I felt blessed to encourage and support her professionally and personally as she strove for each new goal."
"(Aaliyah) was like my seventh daughter. She had so much grace. That's why I just thought her so special — that such a young person always approached her creativity with humility and her success with such grace."
"She was true to who she was and she didn't seem to care about it. The core of her art to me is heavily, heavily urban based. When an artist's music is so urban based, sometimes people like to take risks with artists like that. When you think about it, it really is pop, it really is cultural and that's the one thing that I thought was cool about her music. It never felt like she was trying to reach across or do anything more than just keep that cool, soulful, heavy urban core about it. It wasn't like she was trying to be anything more than who she was. I really respect that and I appreciate that."
"Her star had just begun to shine so brightly. Though she was ours for only a short time, what a time it was. I love Aaliyah, and I will miss her for the rest of my life."
"I ain’t discrediting Aaliyah in any kind of way, but you know how sometimes when people die… You know how somebody’s an asshole their whole life, but when you go to their funeral it’s like, “This guy is the greatest man that ever walked this Earth.”"
"Because she passed nobody’s good enough to be next to her. If she was still alive, then everybody would be saying, “Oh you’re trying to be like Beyoncé.” But now that she’s passed, everybody’s like, “Nobody can be like her.” That’s just how it is, and that’s how people are."
"There will never be another Aaliyah, period, point blank. Aaliyah is Aaliyah, her legacy will live forever. So what Tim basically was saying is that Aaliyah gave him confirmation that this is going to be something."
"O que é, o que é. Clara e salgada Cabe em um olho Pesa uma toneladaTem sabor de mar Pode ser discreta Inquilina da dor Morada predileta Na calada ela vem Refém da vingança Irmã do desespero Rival da esperança."
""After the scare, after the storm"
"In love with the money, I ain't ever letting go"
"And I get high with my baby"
"Pay attention to how we move things"
"Baby, take a look at my life Let's drop the top on my ride, baby Yo, nigga ain't hittin' that right Come roll with me for the night, baby"
"I'm sipping on you like some fine wine, though And when it's over, I press rewind, though"
"All fast money, no slow bucks No one can control us"
"I wake up in the morning, all I think is flip Count a couple hundreds, flip a couple bricks Time to hit the plug now, need another flip Counting all this money, got me filthy rich"
"I love the weed, blow that odour"
"I want you to be mine, again, baby I know my lifestyle is driving you crazy Aye, I cannot see myself without you"
"Married to the money, I ain’t never let go"
"Cannot keep you out my brain"
"This is something you should know, I don't ever chase no hoes I spotted you, you had that glow; watch me pull out all this dough"
"Never really cared what the fuck these niggas think"
"Monty: Counting all this bread, I don't talk to feds"
"And everybody got they opinions But they ain't got no money"
"Name another nigga that you know that could do it like me"
"My niggas stack their money just to spend it 'Cause, when you die, you cannot take it with you"
"And right after we sex, I don't leave I just hold her I don't leave, I just hold her"
"Have you ever had a dream so real That you felt the life you live was fake"
"Every night in sao paulo the blood flows aovernor's accomplice number one apologizes on tv, what a joke has a coffin being buried and a family mourning the death the president sets the tone of hypocrisy fortunately the pm are the minority not only are ten animals that damn corporation.""
"Ice on the wrist, with the ice on the chain."
"DJ Paul is a dog, one you do not trust. You leave your green around me? Nigga, your green gonna get lit up! You leave your drink around me? Believe that your drink is going to get drunk up!"
"Now now 6 got my hands on my first my mill, eyes sold 7 damn near and a quarter bill."
"Man, I just followed the same formula. I feel like if something ain’t broke, you don’t fix it. I’m gonna give the fans what they want, so I’m giving them what they want. I have a couple of different flows on there. But it’s gonna be the same Rubba Band Business that people love, that was banging in the clubs and stuff like that."
"Man, I love music. I looked up to producers like Barry White and Isaac Hayes. You know, I was about those guys. Dr. Dre, Michael Jackson, looking at those guys, how they came up, looking at all those guys I feel like I’m one of those guys. I’m one of those legendary guys just like them. I’ll never go anywhere. I love music. I love making music and working with different producers and getting the rappers and stuff like that. I signed TM88 to my company, you know? It’s been successful. He produced "XO Tour Llif3," which sold over four million copies."
"And I got some other producers I’m working with right now. I got YK 808, I got Deedotwill, I got other up-and-coming artists. I stay working with different people. I like overlapping and vibing with different producers, and that’s just how I’ve always been, man. Even when I was with Three 6 Mafia. I used to always just search for new talent and work with new talented people. I just think that’s what it is. I love making music. I don’t like to stay in the same place -- I’m not that type of person. But I still keep my roots. I still keep my sound."
"I’m executive producing Suicideboys. I’m executive producing their new album. I’m doing a lot of that. Me and A$AP Rocky got a lot of great records we got coming out. I just stay busy, man. I just adapt with times. That’s just who I am. I move forward. Even working in the studio, the equipment changes. The mixing boards -- people used to make their beats on MPCs and W30s and SP100s. Now, people are making beats on computers."
"I always adapt to everything that’s going on. If a new iPhone 8 is coming out, I gotta get it. If a new computer is coming out, I gotta get. Everything that’s new. I don’t live in the past. I just don’t. I still have my sound. I still have my flow. Everything sounds like the stuff that I created from back in the ‘90s. All the flows, I created all of that. I created everything. Everything you hear on the radio, it’s the Three 6 sound so I keep that sound but I still stay relevant. I don’t dwell in the past. My mind is not in the ‘90s, even though I’m a bigger star in the ‘90s -- I’m not in the ‘90s. Some people be stuck back in time, in their prime, in their moment, but I always move forward. A lot of people ask me that. I just move forward."
"I’ll do anything that’s going to save animals. Anytime I can encourage people to think twice before [doing] anything to animals … that’s a good thing."
"Who's that voice on the side of the phone that shakes and rattles his bones? Could it be the man behind the man behind the man behind the throne?"
"My business card says you're in luck: I do two things, I rap and fuck."
""That´s my way and i go"."
"I respect anybody who's pulled an idea out of their brain and fully brought it to life. That sh*t is spiritual. To know that it started as a thought and you brought it into fruition is crazy. Shout out the ones who see it all the way through. Keep creating."
"Gnarls Barkley is an alter ego and something like an out of body experience."
"Age is nothing but a number. It is how one ‘rocks’ one’s age that matters."
"A lot of songs will do justice to how a lot of people are feeling, and it is good for the time regardless of the situation."
"At this point, the guys behind Big Gigantic are bona fide funk experts."