Aesop Rock

“My collaborative albums are always way more enjoyable to make.”

“Musicians are all about celebrity first and foremost, and I just can't do it. The second any sort of popularity contest comes into the picture, I have to walk in the other direction. These people are sociopaths.”

“I remember when I was younger, I read that Jay-Z was 33 and I was just like, 'Damn! This dudes really still goin for it?' It's just so rare that you see any rapper over 30 doing anything interesting.”

“I avoided the computer generation for a very long time.”

“When you're younger, you really care who your fans are.”

“I love rap lyrics, I love hearing people rap, I love molding a thought or idea into the shape that fits on a rap beat.”

“I have been inspired by countless artists over the years, but there's also times when you just gotta make your own inspiration.”

“I'm never really comfortable; I think it's kind of natural to feel uncomfortable, and I think if people say they are comfortable, they're just lying.”

“I've always recorded at home. That's been part of what it's about to me. I've never been the kind of guy who rents a studio.”

“I like to just hear people talking and TV is a quick way to hear different periods and genres. It's just interesting to me. I'm pretty easily amused with that kind of stuff.”

“People can label me whatever they like. I don't really care any more.”

“I got tired of everybody repeating the same phrases in the hip-hop world.”

“I believe giving pets 'people food,' while tempting, is generally frowned upon. As a pet owner you want to prioritize your animal's health over the entertainment value in watching your little guy bat around a small piece of chicken.”

“I just write notes all day on my phone, and when I write songs it becomes a patchwork of these smaller notes that I had, mixed with stuff in the moment.”

“I am hoping to improve my writing and rapping, as well as get a better grasp on how to make beats and music that complements what I do vocally. It's a learning process that hopefully won't end.”

“I think I learned very quickly after I started putting out music... you just learn that people are going to take what they want and make it fit their agenda or make it fit their interpretation. And you make peace with that or you suffer forever.”

“I don't want to be the next face of America.”

“I am a failed visual artist.”

“To be honest, I think Chris Ware is the only person whose books I've actively and consistently purchased for years.”

“Sometimes comfort zones are the best. Sometimes discomfort is just what the doctor ordered.”