I don't ever put down bands.

Music is pretty much all I do.

I ain't got no beef with Obama.

Other kids would take their parents to the toy store and I’d take my mom to the record store.

Does it bother me that some people are burning their own System CDs and taking money out of my pocket? Not really. This has always been about putting the best possible version of the song in the fans hands. It was like selling an artist’s painting before he had finished it.

Back in the day, when the emperor or the king or whatever waged war, they went to war, too. But that’s been lost in time.

Why don’t presidents fight the war? – Why do they always send the poor?

A lot of MTV's programming is hip-hop based, and the messages are usually all about bling bling. A lot of hip-hop artists sing about stuff that's more important, but they seldom get heard. The ones who get heard are the ones saying, 'Think about yourself. Make your money. It's all you. Everybody have a good time and party.'

A lot of times, I don't feel responsible for the songs myself. But that's my job or my place in life: to keep my search and catch the ideas before they pass me by.

I feel like people have only heard half a record so far,