As an artist, I have to be a leader of my fans, not like follow them. Because if I chose to follow them, you know, they could do it.

A flower that grow in the ghetto know more about survival than the one from fresh meadows.

Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction.

I ignored your aura but it grabbed me by the hand, like the moon pulled the tide, and the tide pulled the sand.

Do the math: You never settle for less than the whole if you knew the half.

You gotta get back to your essence, Use your gifts and share your presence, Don't count your dollars 'til you count your blessings.

Life without knowledge is death in disguise.

The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with.

If lyrics sold then truth be told/I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z.

I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified.

You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

He was the last thread suspending me in the light. Without him, I can feel myself spiraling downward, falling to a place where I can no longer pull myself back up.

What you are about to read are based on true events. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will break your heart. Don't say I didn't warn you.

What has happened to architecture since the second world war that the only passers-by who can contemplate it without pain are those equipped with a white stick and a dog?

You haven't yet seen me be rude. When I am it's unmistakable. - Michelle Maxwell.

My goal is to create a therapy of ideas, to try to bring in new ideas so that we can see the same old problems differently.

Right. I'd forgotten about her.' He shook his head. 'That keeps happening.

How easy it is to wax lyrical over despair, to wallow in it, to enjoy it. This too is kitsch

I know no diplomacy save that of truth.

Guides cannot master the subtleties of the American joke.

I love women. They're the best thing ever created. If they want to be like men and come down to our level, that's fine.