I doubt very much if The Beatles would have happened if it was not for Elvis.
You aspire to be as great as Michael Jackson is as an artist. I don't think any artist in pop, rock or hip-hop has ever done it any bigger than him. You know what I mean? He's the man.
I like getting my own thoughts out right now, I have fans to solidify, so that's why I don't do tracks with too many younger rappers or newer artists. People may consider me to be a music snob or whatever, but I like to preserve what's mine and I also don't just do tracks to do tracks, I make every song with a purpose.
They say the music you listen to in your formative years stays with you and leaves an impression for the rest of your life. For me, the things that I fell in love with happened in the '70s, when artists were nurtured by record companies and it wasn't about singles.
Pantera is a marquee band, with the most diehard fans. We sold over 20 million records without MTV or radio.
I used to be a pop singer; well, not used to be. I am an R&B singer. My emphasis was on Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.
I think if my father was a truck driver, I would have wanted to share the beauty that was there. He just happens to be Johnny Cash.
I can't think of another artist who has a fan base as diverse, in that the ladies in their 70s at the 4-H club have the same collection of Johnny Cash records as the punk on the street in Amsterdam.
People like Prince don't have to care about anything, but they care because they want music for the future to be great.
Emmylou Harris is just the biggest influence of mine musically, her and Dolly Parton.
My first two records were influenced by the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Those folks at Death Row were the Rolling Stones of their time.
I've always sung. My dad had a song in his heart and on his lips 24/7. A lot of the time, it was the same song and the same phrase over and over again.
I have a weird and undying love for George Michael. He's the reason why I want to do what I do.
The Beatles have always had a big effect on me.
If someone can write great music... Paul McCartney is a genius. He's so prolific. All we should do is bow down to Paul McCartney.
Strings have been a part of my career and my albums since the very first day. 'Snowbird' had beautiful strings.
The reason why people still come to Tech N9ne shows is because they never know what to expect. They know it's gonna be something wild. From generation to generation, I've seen it. The parents are bringing the kids, and then the kids start comin' themselves. It's crazy, man.
People in England were coming up to me, saying, My mother and father turned me on to your music. This happened to me 20 years ago. When I was 40 they were saying that.
Steve Earle had a mainstream career. Dwight Yoakam had a mainstream career. Willie Nelson did. But they always made good music, they always stuck to who they were. They weren't relying on radio like a lot of people are in Nashville.
Jimi Hendrix came from the blues, like me. We understood each other right away because of that. He was a great blues guitarist.
I was raised on Marvin Gaye. Before I knew Babyface or anyone else, I knew Marvin Gaye. My mother played Marvin Gaye.
We told you Wu-Tang was forever, and some people forgot that. It's not some fad.
What you have to understand is that blues... it's in a line from the oldest forms of African music. If you're playing it like it's an echo of the past, it would be a lot less exciting, but this music lives today.
I would go back to the past and watch one of the early Beatles shows, because they were such a massive part of cultural history. As a younger person, you feel you missed out on that.
