Freddie Gibbs

“He's been my number one influence. If you say Tupac didn't influence you, then you don't really need to be rapping because nobody evokes that kind of emotion on a track like Tupac does.”

“It's in the American spirit to take advantage of an opportunity.”

“Nobody else was saying what he said on air, and sometimes he pushed the envelope when he said the newest Jay Z line with a Michael Jordan highlight. But Stuart Scott was an artist.”

“If you say your product is the best, back that up.”

“I'm a common dude.”

“Coming up in America in the '80s and '90s, we were not too far removed from slavery. People forget that.”

“Every project might only sell like 30 to 50,000, but I mean, I'm getting seven, eight dollars every CD. I make more money per record than an artist on a major label - I can definitely say that.”

“'Pinata' is a great rap record for jazz fans.”

“My core thing is gangster rap, but a lot of my music is melodic and carries a message of survival.”

“I wasn't fully aware of the things that Madlib did musically, but my manager put me up on game. I'm not gonna act like I was a Madlib head when I wasn't. I didn't understand a lot of it at first. But it opened my mind to some things, and it's me bringing that gangster element to things that he does. It's like a perfect marriage.”

“The things I rap about are 100 percent real. But at the same time, I don't rap about those things to tear my city down. I give you the reality of what it is and what I been through and how it is living in those conditions in Gary, Ind.”

“I like A$AP Rocky and his stuff - Kendrick too.”

“I had a nightmare that I was mopping floors and that this Freddie Gibbs thing was all a dream.”

“I tried to watch 'Inception,' but I fell asleep.”

“I always feel like the underdog.”

“Everything don't work out for the best. You have to use a lot of those things as lessons in order to build yourself up.”

“Different rappers got different talents. It's like X-Men.”

“I went to a Bulls game when it was still in Chicago Stadium before they built the United Center.”

“I can do a whole project with Madlib and turn around and do a record with Gucci Mane. Gucci Mane, E-40, and Black Thought on the same record. I like all those rappers, so why can't I work with them in some type of capacity? It just speaks to my versatility. I don't just listen to one type of rap. I listen to all of it so I can make all of it.”

“I always knew that I would be some type of public figure, but I never knew that it would be rapping, 'cause my dad sang: I saw him deal with the ills of the music industry, just on the outside looking in.”