In the early ’90s, when I really started to find my voice, I was reading a lot of books, and I was moved by the writers, like Chinua Achebe, and I wanted to be able to write rhymes that were as potent as what I was reading.
You’re not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You’re either devoted to your job, or to your desires. So the best way to spend your life is to try to be devoted to prayer, to Allah.
There’s just some dysfunctionalism with artists.
Everything’s got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close together, it’s a whole different world. You can lose perspective.
At its heart, music is all higher mathematics.
I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There’s not a lot of regard for the property by the residents.
And remember don’t high post when you’re far from home, and high posting when you’re all alone.
Record companies are not necessarily interested in you realizing your artistic dream. The bottom line is that they got to sell records.
I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice.
If you’re going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just kind of you know, cursory. That’s like standing.
If ‘Life in Marvelous Times’ can’t get on the radio, then I don’t need to be on the radio.
That’s what I’ve been trying to strive for – to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension.
I’m trying to get low. People’s personalities can get in the way of their own work.
I’m retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I’m actually doing it.
Young bloods can’t spell but they can rock you in Playstation.
What I take from writers I like is their economy – the ability to use language to very effective ends.
I’m inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion of mine. I enjoy it. I’m good at it.
I’m growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically.
I think hip-hop is actually one of the most challenging things that’s happened in music in a long time. The people who are in charge of what people see or hear are afraid. What you hear on top 40 or what you see on BET or MTV is not a fair representation of what is really going on.
I’ve always loved music and I love the language, which is a huge reason why I’m part of theater.
I want to be necessary and do good works. I ain’t here to waste nobody’s time, because I don’t want you to waste mine.