Fortunately, artists can live off their works, if you're creative at how you do it. If you just depend on the videos and the radio, you're at a loss.

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.

You cannot borrow half of who you are from someone else, yet people try to do it all of the time, they just call it a relationship!

Love can literally transform a human being. It can make us do either heroic or evil deeds. It is the best inspiration ever.

Violent crimes had increased from 120 per 100, 000 in 1962 180 per 100, 000 by 1964.

Civilization is sterilization.

My doom is, I love thee still. Let no man dream but that I love thee still.

Enjoy most: the prospect of having an impact on the public debate. Irritating liberals is a close second.

A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today's military rejects include tomorrow's hard-core unemployed.

Pessimism is a waste of time.

I've had lots of kids come up and ask for my autograph, I've had a grandmother stop me and ask me if I know a good place to buy underwear.

I go on benders where I just exercise like a maniac. And then I go on benders where I just can only take baths. Like, I have to lay down to bathe, and I could go on that for six months.