Rap History Quotes

I would have to be traditional and say that my favorite era of hip-hop was between '85-'89. That was the era that got me to love hip-hop.

There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.

I'm a tremendous believer and supporter in hip-hop and rap.

In the early '80s, it was hard to find celebrities you can identify with if you lived in the hood. There weren't any rap videos at the time.

Over the years, a lot of rappers - Lil' Wayne, Ice Cube - have used my name in their songs. I'm a real touchstone of history.

Rap is the only super-current music. If you're into reggae or dancehall, and you don't know Bob Marley, then you don't really know what you're listening to. But if you're listening to rap, and you're 15, you're like, 'Grandmaster Flash? Who's that? Public Enemy? Yeah, my dad told me about them once.' And that's just how it is.

When I was little, my dad showed me N.E.R.D., their first album, and I thought it was amazing. I thought Pharrell was just killing everything. That was my first introduction to rap.

My character is meant to know nothing about rap, and not to like it very much, but I know about it, because my kids make me listen to it. There's some rap I do like very much. I like Eminem, Blackalicious.

I am not a rapper. And I believe people in India are not even clear with the whole idea of rap or what it signifies.

As far as rap goes, I grew up in Hollis, Queens, so early influences were people like Run DMC and LL Cool J.

The song, 'Life is Better,' is about hip-hop. It's about my love for hip-hop. And, you know, I go through all the artists from the beginning to the end, you know. And, well, not to the end, but since the beginning to now, you know.

I've studied rap in every borough.

I was about nine years old when I first heard Wu-Tang's 'C.R.E.A.M.' Before that, I didn't know anything about rap or hip-hop. I was just into Korean pop.

If you hear people talking about the Golden Era of rap, they're usually talking about the early Wu Tang Clan era and then Nas and Biggie and so on. But for me, it goes back to the '80s - 1986 to 1989.

I'll always love rap, no matter what's going on.

When I was growing up, to be an emcee meant to write the most clever, intellectual, and wittiest rap. And that's what we did.

My influences, going back through the history of rap, talk about Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe D, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy.

I'm very proud of what I was able to do during the '90s, when baggy pants were in and East/West rap was relevant and all these different things.

I grew up with, maybe not the best hip-hop in the world, but a lot of hip-hop. Will Smith was, like, my jam when I was, like, 9 or 10 years old.

Scandinavian rap started in the '90s, off the back of Run DMC, and it was a bunch of Swedish dudes doing the same thing.

I guess, like, I've always listened to rap, and I remember I specifically started listening to, like, pop-rap when I was, like, 11, you know, like Shaggy. I love Shaggy. And then I discovered, like, underground rap when I got to high school, and really, that's when it kind of blossomed. I don't feel like my love for rap blossomed off of Shaggy.

I liked rap from a young age, from listening to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.

Lots of people are saying that I shut down mumble rap in one 10-minute setting. But that wasn't my intention, because mumble rap - if we go back - that's something I invented.

I listen to Jay-Z, Nelly, Nas, Ludacris and all the young kids out there. I listen to them, and I have mad respect for them.

My taste for rappers is very high. I've only worked with, like, Pac and Jay-Z and Scarface.