Rakim

“I was an athlete in college - a quarterback, a leader - so people telling me what to do doesn't work.”

“I love Jay-Z, I love Kanye, and I praise the way he's been able to bring more business out of the jungle.”

“Everything I did on the 'Paid in Full' album and those first three albums, I wrote everything right in the studio.”

“I always say a rapper is like a halfback in the NFL. You got about seven years, then it's a wrap.”

“Social media gives a lot of people a platform where they can express their feelings. I like to do mine through songs. I let info build up. In some way, it translates into paper whenever I sit down.”

“I've always tried to insert consciousness and spirituality in my records, interpreting the writings of all cultures and religions and how they apply to life in modern times.”

“I was an underground artist, but the underground status was successful. Coming from where I came from to see where rap is now, now artists are selling from a million to eight million copies.”

“When you listen to old-school music, you can smell your mother's food in the kitchen. You can feel where you was when you first heard that song. That's what's beautiful about music. It's for everyone, but we all have individual memories that make us love it.”