Life without knowledge is death in disguise.

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.

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.

When you shine bright, some won't enjoy the shadow you cast.

Always there whom we believe shouldn't be and never are there whom we believe should be.

When you're thinking, please remember this: excessive pride is a familiar sin, but a man may just as easily frustrate the will of God through excessive humility.

My dad loves to eat, and he loves everything I make!

Are you more likely to tolerate drivel than you were four years ago? I think the answer is yes. Four years of Reagan has deadenedthe senses against a barrage of uninterrupted nonsense.

Carefully execute every instruction given to you by the director, producer, and studio. But that would be a life not worth living.

We are ever capable of change and ever capable of being our better selves

I wish I had more hair on my head. Maybe if I sprinkled fertilizer on it, it would grow

Human history is work history. The heroes of the people are work heroes.

What inspires me most to write is the act of traveling.

I really love playing music with other people. It's more fun to be on the road with others. It's kind of lonely out there when you play on your own!