Wu-Tang is a group that has a cult following.
I appreciate people who make hip-hop... the way A Tribe Called Quest and Lauryn Hill and KRS-One did it.
Jadakiss is not no walk in no park. Nas is not no walk in no park. These are dudes that could have ended my career.
For those from my era, my age, that 2Pac vs. Biggie war will go on forever about who is the greatest. But I was more of a Biggie dude.
I love to get on tracks with brothers like Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, the GZA. The whole crew is golden, man. When you think of us, you gotta say, 'Yo, these are the Jacksons of hip-hop.'
My influences, going back through the history of rap, talk about Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe D, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy.
Wu-Tang is looked at like the Rolling Stones of hip-hop.
A lot of my favorite artists didn't sell much out the gate. I didn't with Common at first. Neither did first albums from Outkast, Nas, or Jay Z. It doesn't scare me.
Imagine the first time you are about to rap in a studio and you find yourself in a booth with Redman and KRS!
I have become their idol. Like, Busta Rhymes has called me twice to come to rap with him, and Big Daddy Kane and Eric B and Rakim, I made a trip to do things with them.
We can teach about hip-hop history, we can teach about legends, hip-hop theory. It's been around so long that text books can be written about it. This is a perfect time to capitalize on and get kids excited about music education.
The only thing that I'm scared of is not livin' up to the expectations of Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Big L, Tupac. That was, like, my top five, generally.
This entire cast, N.W.A, was an all-star group, and I really feel like people are going to look at 'Straight Outta Compton' years from now like this was an all-star cast.
Antwan Patton and Andre Benjamin saved my life. That's how I view them giving me a record deal, with nothing but love and adoration. I saw Big Boi have to do what he kept doing after Dre said he didn't want to do touring and Aquemini [the label].
Wayne is definitely one of the top five MCs to ever come out of the South.
What I want to do is, I want to put together a nice list of those guys who I really did admire when I was growing up, listening to names like Lord Finesse.
