Top 120 Quotes & Sayings by Aesop Rock - Page 2

I think if the desire to improve what I do starts to plateau then what's the point.

Doing something like 'Bushwick,' a lot of people need to agree that the piece is working with what's going on on the screen. So it's a lot of tweaks and re-works, just kinda moving pieces around and getting things to hit right.

I love 'Black Mirror.'

I don't want to hit a point where I feel there is nothing to improve upon - there always is.

I'd love it if one of my songs became a hit.

I think I learned very quickly after I started putting out music... you just learn that people are going to take what they want and make it fit their agenda or make it fit their interpretation. And you make peace with that or you suffer forever.

I really like 'Game of Thrones.

Musicians are all about celebrity first and foremost, and I just can't do it. The second any sort of popularity contest comes into the picture, I have to walk in the other direction. These people are sociopaths.

I went to college in '94 and started freestyling a lot more and hearing how others did it, hearing styles from other regions, all of it. Met Blockhead there.

I had written rap songs in the early '90s and even did a couple homemade rap songs with my brother in like '88 or '89, but it was just like... I don't even know how to say it. Just plain rap. I was just rapping about whatever, there was no real style or direction, it was just semi-braggadocious rhymes that probably imitated 100 other rappers.

I am hoping to improve my writing and rapping, as well as get a better grasp on how to make beats and music that complements what I do vocally. It's a learning process that hopefully won't end.

I like to just hear people talking and TV is a quick way to hear different periods and genres. It's just interesting to me. I'm pretty easily amused with that kind of stuff.

Artwork, films, TV - it's always informed my work, no matter what I'm working on.

I don't really engage much in the creative community. I just kind of keep to myself and do my work.

Most artists - painters or writers - I think create out of stress or negative situations. Look at rock music. It's about getting things off of your chest, and it's a means of venting in many ways. That's what my work is about.

If a song or group hits you at the right time in your life, it's everything. It's bigger than school or family or anything else.

My collaborative albums are always way more enjoyable to make.

I love the playfulness and braggadocio that accompanies a ton of rap music - that's basically what makes up the foundation for most rappers. But there is nothing 'weirder' to me than someone who has never doubted themselves.

You have to write about what's inside you. If I have to get something out, I'll do it.

I got tired of everybody repeating the same phrases in the hip-hop world.

I remember when I was younger, I read that Jay-Z was 33 and I was just like, 'Damn! This dudes really still goin for it?' It's just so rare that you see any rapper over 30 doing anything interesting.

I am a failed visual artist.

I just think I want my work to represent me fully.

Finding something new that I know I've never done before is the best feeling I know, and when I get there it's all worth it.

I know so many people that were really able to lead 'perfect' lives. They meet the right person, they make the babies, they get the jobs, they get the house and it's essentially a smooth ride. That really didn't happen for me.

The only way I'm comfortable with a new album is if I'm taking a new risk.

I'm not interested in hearing yet another rapper tell me why he's the best. Why not tell a story set in a specific time and place? Create some characters, add a little bit of action and you're good to go.

I never really planned on being a rapper, I just kinda did it and then people started liking it.

I just write notes all day on my phone, and when I write songs it becomes a patchwork of these smaller notes that I had, mixed with stuff in the moment.

I've always recorded at home. That's been part of what it's about to me. I've never been the kind of guy who rents a studio.

I would love for my existence as an artist to be completely about my art - not about my social media, or what I do vs what's cool right now, or even whether or not I sound okay in an interview.

MCs are authors, and rock musicians who write lyrics are authors, to a degree.

When I do solo material I definitely tend to overthink it. I make a lot of rules for myself that are a little bit arbitrary and... it's just painful.

People don't stress enough that when they're writing lyrics, they are writing.

My brothers each reacted differently to 'Blood Sandwich.' It's a very specific type of odd feeling when there's a song written about you. People react to it differently.

I don't want to be the next face of America.

Rap lyrics are really the only thing I've ever written.

I remember thinking that 'Earthworms' wasn't really an 'album' to me, only because it felt like a weird collection of songs more than an actual project.

I went to college, got a job. Not a good job or anything but I was fully set to be an office employee for my life.

The older I get, the less I care about what’s cool. I realize I’m old and weird.

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?"

Everyone's been on the "hip-hop is dead" campaign for years, and now it's the most unsure-of-itself genre ever.

Armchair hater, I wouldn't piss on your coffin But when I see your picture I draw dicks on it.

You can't get someone to like something they aren't feeling. After you press play, there isn't anything you can do.

God helps those who have no-cut contracts.

Too bad your inner sheep never forgets to follow.

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.

...I've never had a dream in my life, Because a dream is what you wanna do, but still haven't pursued. I knew what I wanted, and did it till it was done. So I've been the dream I wanted to be since Day One.

I'm just tryin to be somebody I can talk to in the morning with a smile.

If I had interesting things to say, I would have been a speechwriter. I think it gets to musicians' heads a lot of the time. Just because people like your records doesn't mean what you have to say is going to be interesting.

Now we the American working population Hate the fact that eight hours a day Is wasted on chasing the dream of someone that isn't us And we may not hate our jobs But we hate jobs in general That don't have to do with fighting our own causes. We the American working population Hate the nine-to-five, day-in day-out When we'd rather be supporting ourselves By being paid to perfect the pastimes That we have harbored based solely on the fact That it makes us smile if it sounds dope.

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.

I'm Mozart with a focus on the tide Hiding the inconsistencies of man behind water and wine

There's smoke in my iris, but I painted a sunny day on the insides of my eyelids

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.

Dream a little dream, Or you can live a little dream I'd rather live it 'Cause dreamers always chase But never get it

The only bridge I've ever burned along this legacy I dance is the one that linked the cities of prosperity and chance.

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.

The alleycats manipulate the blocks with gutter magic

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.