Skepta Quotes

I think, in America, for a long time you had groups that wanted to be stars more than they wanted to make music.

It's fair to say that white America wouldn't have elected an African-American president without the integrating effect of black music - from Louis Armstrong to hip-hop - and black drama and fiction, commercial as much as 'serious.'

Speaking out against rap music is useless, and it's futile. The reality is there's criticism for everything, but Jay-Z is one of the most remarkable artists of our time of any genre, and as a hip-hop artist he carries the weight of that art form with such splendor and grace and genius.

I don't think you're selling out by allowing the masses to love your art. The only curse is that, when you get so big, sometimes people forget to look at the music.

We gotta let hip-hop grow. We gotta let it go through its different phases throughout the different places that's accepting it.

I like Cardi B!

There's a lot of pressure that comes from the mainstream stuff, and already people who have been saying - people who don't know any better - have been saying things to me like, 'You should really think about neosoul. You'd definitely be more successful in that.' But that's not my expression.

You had Cash Money: that was just the flashy dudes. Like I said, you had different genres of rap, and we were just one of them. So that's how we fit in. What makes it all confusing - and this is where it's the gift and the curse - we never set out for hip-hop to turn into just something flashy. That was just our thing. It wasn't everybody's thing.

Watch The Throne' is my favorite project. The production, the way they carried themselves, it's amazing.

It's an honour to have been invited to perform in India for 'Vh1 Hip Hop Hustle.' This only reconfirms the impact Hip Hop culture and music has made globally.

As a lover of both hip-hop and jazz, I feel like much of the latter community still doesn't truly embrace hip-hop as a musical extension.

As far as Memphis being underrated, I feel like a lot of people have slept on Memphis music when it comes to breaking through into the mainstream.

I love Cardi B.

I had a style before I was signed, but now I'm developing my commercial sound as well as trying to strike a balance between authentic music and music that the masses will love.

We made this mountain with 'Vulgar Display Of Power,' and that was a pretty damn tall mountain to climb.

The great thing about 'Hamilton,' for me, is so many people have been exposed to and are more open to hip-hop and certain artists, despite the stigma that had before been attached to it.

America used to say that hip-hop was a cancer. Then it embraced that cancer and realized, 'Hey, this isn't a bad thing. It is part of us, just more America.'

Honestly, as a rapper, the Freshman list is definitely the biggest milestone. Culture-wise - anything-wise - that's the biggest stamp.

If hip-hop is dead, then let it rest in peace and let's move on to something else.

I want to take it really far in Spanish; even non-Spanish speakers listen to my music across the world. Even though they don't know what I'm saying, they really feel it. We want to take it to another level and keep building our name. We want to take it really far just in Spanish.

I don't know why we sold a lot of records or why so many people came to see us. Like 'Sabotage' - would you put that song on, like, 'I'm gonna listen to that right now?' It's a weird choice.

Azealia Banks - love what she's doing.

I have been skeptical, sometimes, about the importance of rap music, which I think is a capitalistic project to make money.

Once upon a time Americans didn't want to listen to Canadian rap and now Drake's the biggest rapper in the world.

I love the song 'Picasso Baby,' and I think the performance art piece was brilliant. I love that fact that Jay Z is continuing to raise the bar on hip hop.