I don't ever have the pressure of making a hit, because I've never had a hit song, per se. The closest thing to a hit song was 'Shiraz,' and it's not your prototypical hit song, with a catchy hook and all this other stuff.
I love to cook a meal for the so-called holidays. You always need the turkey. I like making a good BBQ brisket as well.
Billy Joel is an incredible musician. He just feels like one of the guys, you know. I grew up listening to his music.
Albanians, we tan well! I don't burn; I bake.
I'm into heavy duty, psychedelic, foreign music. That's what I like listening to.
I would say I started rapping because my friends were doin' it.
I could never change the overall feel of my music. That's why people like me - I don't follow trends, and I don't follow crowds.
Penmanship means a lot to me. I don't have cursive penmanship, though. I've created my own penmanship. It's very clear. Everyone can read it. I write things down all day long.
New York was at the forefront of rap, so because of all the great people who have gone before me, being a rapper from Queens, I have to live up to those standards. I'm basically just a regular guy who says what he feels and likes to joke. I like long walks on the beach... and I love rap.
I'm not the type of guy to go so deep with the concept songs, but there's deep thought in everything. Maybe it's not just a repetitive hook telling you what the song is about - you have to use your brain a little bit.
Did I collect baseball cards? I've got 10 books full of plastic in my mother's house. All the Upper Decks, the Fleers, the Fleer Ultras. My grandfather brought me to the trade shows. I collected Marvel cards, too.
The first rappers I ever got into were Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, and Nas. Those are the guys. Those are the dudes that flipped my wig.
I don't really do playlists. I don't know how to make a playlist, honestly.
Anything that catches my ear, I'm into. Things that are different, that change what you're listening to.
I'll always be into sports. Sports is part of my life forever. My TV stays on ESPN all day long, I'm one of those. I don't even listen to music in the car; all I listen to is sports talk.
I like every girl. Every kind of girl that there is, I like.
I want to do an album with Steven Seagal.
I'm not just a normal guy. I'm a gymnast.
Everyone is trying to make these huge songs; I just make things that I want to listen to. Music that I will be comfortable listening to 10 years from now, that's my only thing.
All I can do is put out the good stuff, and people will make the decision on whether they like it. My fans are very intelligent people. They're not stupid. They know what's good.
