Aesop Rock Quotes

How do you be a 45-year-old man in a rock band, do it well, keep your dignity and not become a parody of yourself? I don't think it will be simple.

Any artist who sticks around in the public awareness for more than 20 years usually has something unique to say.

I'll be, like, the oldest rapper alive.

I don't want to be 50 years old and rapping, man. I'm pretty sure nobody wants to do that.

You know, I always root for the older athlete. I root for the second album. I root for solo careers after the rock star breaks the band apart.

Music never dies. Do we really need another Madonna tour? Does she have to compete with women performers 25 years her junior?

I know that bands that haven't put out a record for 10 years are playing to 20,000 people a night. But that's not the achievement.

I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still blessed with the opportunity to make music and pass out a message like, 'Life is good,' to the world.

I'm not a one-hit wonder as some suggest. I've had a couple of hits, but still, all of my hits were in the '70s. There was pretty much nothing in the '80s, '90s, or in the first full decade into the next millennium.

I always kind of think if The Beatles were still around now, people would've lost interest quite a long time ago. Seven years of recording - it's there forever. I think not outstaying your welcome is a vital ingredient.

I'm mostly concentrating now on continuing to make history in Hip-Hop, making everybody proud of me, I'm not just a rapper now, I'm in history now.

I can't get my knickers in a twist about my age and ageing in an industry that caters to the ids of 14-year-olds.

Remaining a pop phenomenon for 20 years without dying or lapsing into self-parody is quite a feat.

Forever, for me, it was just about trying to make it and become a known person and loved and revered in hip-hop and the culture. But then, I even realized that that isn't really important. What's mainly important is just the fans and the connection that you have as a man and an artist.

Why isn't there any 50-year-old MCs killing it? I'm 46. Am I the only one? I can't wait to get to 50. I'm going to let everybody know it! I'm going to wear a shirt that says 'I'm 50.'

Whether you like him or not, hip hop needs Drake.

There are people much better placed to make music than me. It's always been a young person's game.

No matter if you like it or not, you could hate Drake, he always says stuff that everybody can relate to. Facts.

Nobody went out to pasture, and a lot of people are doing their best work. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Sting are at the top of their game. I mean, Tony Bennett is the coolest guy I ever met! We have to figure out how to break out of this age ghetto.

Relevance is a big, big question. It's more about what's your definition of being relevant. In the music world, agism is a big issue. It's about youth and youth culture. There's no other art form that I know that requires you to be a certain age.

Historically, hip-hop is about a generation of artists rapping about the realities they see in their neighborhoods or the 'truths' they hear growing up in their homes.

When I'm in the studio with other rappers, we talk about social issues.

I can't look at TV without seeing something that's been influenced by rap. Even commercials for cereal. When I was small, I was a fan of cartoon characters - now the cartoon characters are rapping!

If you think about rap and how it has become so much easier to record music and release it, and you think about everyone in the world being a 'rapper' these days, it's so much easier. But it's still as hard as ever to break through and truly be successful in this industry.

Dealing with the old school rappers, you see a lot of humility. When you're new, nothing is wrong. Everything is tight. Because you're trying to hype the world into believing in you.