I want to be one of the greats. I feel like the money and all that is going to come, but I want to be a name that, like, when you say Nas or Jay Z, that's forever.
From Jay-Z to Nas to Kanye to whoever, I'm just not the type to say, 'Hey, let me get on your album.' If they want me, they're going to reach out and say, 'I need a joint from you.'
I've been on 'Jay Leno,' and everyone likes Jay, but being on that show is a really boring afternoon. I sincerely like Jay, but I wouldn't want his job, because I'd have to interview Kathy Ireland, and there's nothing there I'd want to know.
As an actor, you never want to feel like a tool. You never want to feel like, "Hey, just come here, say this, stop here, look this way," and that's it. You want to have a little input.
I've got a variety of things I like to listen to. I like R&B. I like Chris Brown. I like Nas. I like Jay Z. Rick Ross. Kanye West. I try to mix it up.
I used to wanna rap like Jay-Z,
Now I feel I could run laps around Jay-Z,
Nas ain't seen nothing this nasty,
B.I.G. & Pac got it coming when I pass too.
You got the mic, I ain't the one you wanna pass to
I hope the business sense that artists like Jay-Z and Nelly are showing rubs off on the young players. I want somebody to stand up and say, Look, these kids got it going on. We want to be a part of them.
I guarantee whenever I get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's name and I'm not going to say it for ages. That's just the way I want to do it. It'll come out but it won't have come from me.
You’re a feminist if you go to a Jay Z and Beyoncé concert, and you’re not like, ‘Mmm, I feel like Beyoncé should get 23 percent less money than Jay Z'.
Big shout out to Nas: if you want to scream my name out again and put my name in your rhyme, I think it's funny. Let's make some money from it. Just don't take it so serious, man.
I wanted to write a book like a rapper would write it - I didn't want to hold back. Rappers catch a lot of slack; I'm not going to be cursing up a storm, but when I look at Nas... his first album is one of my favorites. I want to tell stories like that.
I don't feel like I have to please anyone. I feel free. I feel like I'm an adult. I'm grown. I can do what I want. I can say what I want. I can retire if I want. That's why I've worked hard.
I don't want to stand in front of a whole lot of fakeys. If I'm going to meet someone and say hello, I want to feel like I'm really meeting that person, not a masked version. I want to give that to people when they meet me. You don't have to like it. I'm not looking for you to like it; I'm looking to be myself.
My name was originally Da Baby Jesus, but I changed it like two years into my career because I didn't want to offend anyone; although I feel like my purpose in the game is related and still is, I didn't want my name to be a distraction from the music.
Jay Z and Nas is probably my favorite rap beef because Nas was kinda quiet for a while.
If you want to be like the greats, you learn from the greats.