I will never say something I don't agree with or believe in... even if the reward is massive!
My experience with power, you can maintain it, or you get it taken from you. You get you some newfound power and go crazy, and it get taken from you quick.
L.A. hip-hop is so different; it's so diverse. Out here, it's, like, funk-inspired; it's, like, '70s-skating-rink-inspired at times. It's Zapp-and-Roger-inspired; it's house-party-era-inspired.
The artist part of me always wants to be appreciated. I read every review. But I never wanted to seek validation by awards or anything controlled by politics.
As I got older, my pops tried to keep me involved with the culture by telling me the stories of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, how he came to America, and about our family back home, because all that side of my family - my aunties, grandparents - is in Africa.
One of my mentors schooled me on branding before it was a cliche term in the game.
I want to thank my Eritrean fans for feeling connected to me and for supporting me. I feel extremely grateful.
From the beginning of my rap career, since I was seen and heard, I always had a store.
I get a more passionate delivery when I just go in the booth and let the music talk.
As is the case with most people in this game, I am driven by financial motives and creative motives; the question I had to answer is which motive I will give priority to?
If you don't know your full-throttle history, the whole story of how you came to where you are, it's kind of hard to put things together.
I built a company at the same time I built a career.
I think you can give a pure artistic product if you understand how to build your own industry.
People that's in power - the central banks, these fiat currencies that are traded globally - they got influence over the messaging and the narrative in the media.
As much as I'm a black person from America, I'm a black person from Africa, too.
You listen to Charlie Parker or John Coltrane before they found their voice, they sounded different. And when you listen to them after they found their voice on their instruments, they sound more confident and in control. Artists have that, too.
I always wanted to do things right and represent myself as somebody that took the art serious and someone that took the business serious also, so I had time to weigh the options and figure it out and do my best to create the situation that was ideal.
It's important to love in hip hop.
I was never ignorant, as far as being experienced in classrooms and learning about different subjects and actually soaking it up, so I checked into college for a little bit. I took classes at a community college in West L.A. I took psychology, English, and philosophy.
Compton got such a legacy in hip-hop.
