No I.D. Quotes

I feel like with a lot of Madlib's beats, they are made for storytelling. I feel like when I'm working on stuff with him, I can really get into the storytelling aspect mode of my flow.

My favorite artist was probably Jay-Z. He's the one who inspired me to start writing music. He's a wordsmith. He's very clever. He uses a lot of similes and metaphors. He's a beast of a rapper.

Not everybody is a great rapper; not everybody lives for the art of lyricism.

A lot of the hip hop artists don't write music. They write words.

I think that rap is narrative, when it's done right.

Rap - it's a childhood passion. Writing rhymes, it's something that I was doing before rap records even existed. And I will continue to write until I can't write anymore.

What inspires me about rap is that it's written in an almost poetic way. I just think it's so cool.

I used to print out lyrics from Nas songs and write my own lyrics in the same syllable count but with different words and different rhymes.

I think the best rappers practice concept albums in their work.

Biggie was to me the guy who was the best at painting the picture and making you visualize something, Pac was the best poet, and I feel like Jay Z is all of the above. Then Rick Ross is just, every line he spits is just perfect, and he's one of my favorite MCs of all time.

The crafting of lyrics is really a task, and when it comes to street culture, I don't feel like anyone else articulates it better than me.

When I was in fourth grade, I started writing a lot of poetry, and eventually, someone in the church was like, 'You should switch this over to rapping.' I went home and did that - started putting my poems over rap.

With the super duper flow, I created that one word rhyme style.

I mean, when it's time to rhyme rhyme, I can get down for mine.

Biggie and Big Pun were the best storytellers of the '90s. I would get wrapped up in the narrative of what they were talking about.

I've always been jealous of rappers, because they can fit so many words into a song and tell a story with lots of details. But when you're a songwriter, you have to fit the words to the melody and you can't fit as much in. I'm just a big fan of storytelling.

I'm into the lyrical side of rap. I listen to some old Eminem songs and think, 'Wow, he's a genius.' He's one of the greatest poets of our time. Even when he's out of control, like on 'Cold Wind Blows,' it's incredible.

I write poetry, and I put it to a beat - I mean, that's what they call rap.

I still very much appreciate the storytelling of the best rappers.

I came up in hip-hop, where people value the ability to tell it straight.

Big Rube was on my first album and some of my mixtapes. His words are so powerful. I want to speak every word he says into existence. I wanna be a part of that! I wanna be a part of greatness. His wordplay is great to me.

Drake, I'd like to collaborate with. He's a phenomenal lyricist. Probably the best rapper in the world at the moment. I love Kanye but there's something about Drake; he's more straight up, really clever and really poetic and metaphorical - I love that. He's just clever.

I don't have to work on it. I'm naturally a writer. The rapping and writing, they can go hand-in-hand - but rapping is an art that you have to practice and master, so I worked at it for a long time.

I think hip-hop does a very good job of infusing comedy and humor and wit into music, a lot more than other genres.

The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.