Everyone’s been on the “hip-hop is dead” campaign for years, and now it’s the most unsure-of-itself genre ever.
If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.
There’s smoke in my iris, but I painted a sunny day on the insides of my eyelids.
The only bridge I’ve ever burned along this legacy I dance is the one that linked the cities of prosperity and chance.
The older I get, the less I care about what’s cool. I realize I’m old and weird.
I’m just tryin to be somebody I can talk to in the morning with a smile.
In a time where everything’s a flavor of the month, and it’s hard to have any sort of longevity, I’ve been able to sell records still. I want to be the guy that stands out there and says thank you personally to everyone. And I try after my shows and kick it because I want to genuinely say thanks.
Too bad your inner sheep never forgets to follow...
The alleycats manipulate the blocks with gutter magic.
Honestly, I don’t feel pressure to live up to anything I’ve done because I tend to not listen to my work once a year passes.
For a guy who didn’t expect a fan base whatsoever, I’m pretty stoked. People say they don’t understand it, and I say that’s okay. I don’t think anyone can argue that I’m not trying to do my own thing at least.
I’ve learned I don’t like being around people too much. It’s hard to stand around and make conversation with people I’ve learned. But I do want to be the guy that can do it easily.
People are very adamant about maintaining a certain sound or a certain era, like, “There were three years of rap that were great, so let’s just keep doing that.” The genre itself is just stuck in place. It’s been treading water for a while.
You can’t get someone to like something they aren’t feeling. After you press play, there isn’t anything you can do.
I started freestyling with friends about eight or nine years ago. I started writing also around the same time, but didn’t meet blockhead until about ’94. I started making beats not until about ’96.
The thing about the state of hip-hop is that people are too concerned. I don’t think that there’s a problem with being too concerned about videogames, especially for me, because I’m not in the industry. I’m just a consumer. But hip-hop is constantly like, “What are you doing for the scene?”
I’ve been able to tour because of my music and I’ve learned a lot about myself while on the road. I think some of the imagery of my writing are snapshots of where I’ve been and my feelings about the world.