"And as the mouthpieceOf every single citizen without peaceDirection and leadershipI'ma spit it 'til your ears can't believe this shitWe got weapons of mass destruction, and we is it"

"I wish the government would quit tappin' phones in the ghetto(Leave us alone) I wish my student loans were all settledI wish they'd quit riggin' elections, the shit is depressin'Bet your bottom dollar Bush wins again, no questionI wish AIDS didn't existI wish I didn't have flashbacks of my cousin slittin' his wristsI wish there weren't so many single mothers and deadbeat dadsYeah"

"You mad at the last album, I apologize for itYo, I can't call it, man muh'fuckin' Wyclef spoiled it"

"Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less travelledI'm patient so that's one less hassleIf I dream it, I can live itI've seen the light with vivid imageryI need to write with fits of energyBut it's hard tryin' to get where I'm goin'Without a hint or an omenIt's too late to turn aroundPerseverance, gotta learn it nowBut I'm stubborn howAm I supposed to survive this rollercoaster hurtlin' to the ground?"

"I guess it's true what they say, the third time's a charmI grabbed the game and let it die in my armsThen resurrected itChanged clothes, same flow, perfected itThey know Swain though they still won't respect the kidBut I ain't slowin' upThis time, blowin' upSponsors, concerts, everybody showin' upKnow enough tricks of the trade to get a record deal:Fresh kicks, press kits, sex appealHad to mail my demo out 'cause I ain't had enough bus passTo take the bus first classSo frustrated, had to puff-puff-passSent my CD out to Puff, Puff passedMust've had enough trash on his desk this yearSent one to So So Def, but it fell on so so deaf earsI never once shed tears, this must be a test here"

"D. Swain ain't never dwell on shitSo why would he start now?The perfect time for him to depart, vowedTo make a name for myselfGet some fame, maybe gain some wealth (what else?)I gave you the pain of a black man going through thangsJust being myself and showing you SwainNow a nigga feelin' disenchanted, jaded'Cause instead of gettin' props, Danny got hatedYeah I made it to the top, but I'm tossin' myself offD. Swain kill his image? Chalk it up as a lossGoodbye"

"So one time for my disillusioned artists, I hear yaTwo times for the kid that air-guitars in the mirrorThree times for the 9-to-5-in' bus ridin' dudesAnd four times for my dreamers, yo I'm just like youThat's why I sing for my queens with their own pair of wingsMy brothers flyin' beside me, drama behind meMama tried to find me, she inquired emphaticallyI was in the sky with all these other ghetto kids, defying gravity, uh"

"Tribe purist to the fullestIf'n you ain't feelin' this track, then you're full of itPull that li'l shit if you wanna, ya digBut you ain't gonna do me like you did those Kidz, and clown meHomage, comma, propsCall it what you want, but I'm not gonna stopRecord hit the store and I'm not gonna flopAnd if I do, well then it's fodder for the message boards tomorrow"

"I, once was retired but he's sort of backHaven't been the same since Uncle L sneezed on a track(Heee-shay!) I'm 'bout to throw some D's on the 'LacSike...my guest appearances is cheese for the ratsPease porridge hot? Nah nigga, pease porridge blackPlease pour a batch of Singaporan tea, more than thatY'all gon' need some bigger cups if you fuckin' with me and NaledgeEven college was a hustle to him, like me at ClaflinWe is laughin' at the competition deviouslySo much accomplished, Wikipedia's peeved"

"But she just stood there, scared that I might snapI looked in her eyes and there were years of disappointment starin' right backAnd I was scared too, scared of what she would sayBut I was embarassed like I, like I sat through three Madea playsBefore she walked away, Misery stoppedAnd she said 'look at your music career, you're in the same spotNah,' I said, 'don't even try meBecause you used to stand beside meBut I moved so far ahead you're ninety feet behind me'"

"[Relationships] never seem to work out, I mean it gets to the point where I have to be extremely cautious. You have to understand, this stardom thing is still new to me, I don't even consider myself "famous". It's 2008: if you have a blog, a mixtape and two pairs of skinny jeans you, too, can be 'famous'."

"I wasn’t reluctant about it. I’ve had so many fans online and at shows ask for my old material that I was surprised. So when I had the chance to release my back catalog on iTunes it was really for the fans. I’m still surprised when a fan comes up to me and ask about F.O.O.D. I want to please those fans that have enjoyed my previous albums and I also want to be able to see the progression of my music for posterity sake."

"I rarely get mentioned in the same category as these other guys who have come out after me...[b]ut maybe I’m not that, maybe I’m not an Internet rapper."