RAKIM

Eminem is a master.

When I started rhyming, my favorite rhythms were from John Coltrane and some of the things he did on sax. And certain rhythms that I hear on drums, I try to emulate with my words, dropping on the same patterns that them beats or them notes would hit.

When you look at hip-hop, I want to do that: to spit fire and take our best from the ashes to build our kingdom; to recognize all the regional styles, conscious lyrics, the tracks, underground, mainstream, the way we treat each other. Lose the garbage and rebuild our scene.

I just appreciate the love that I get and support from hip-hop.

I try to support my kids in what they do and, at the same time, not push them towards anything.

I got a lot of vinyl, a lot of music in general in the house.

There are certain things that I wish people knew - certain things that I feel I started and certain things that I'm responsible for. Sometimes you wish people knew where a certain style of rapping came from or who was the first one to say whatever.

When you listen to old-school music, you can smell your mother's food in the kitchen. You can feel where you was when you first heard that song. That's what's beautiful about music. It's for everyone, but we all have individual memories that make us love it.

Everything I did on the 'Paid in Full' album and those first three albums, I wrote everything right in the studio.

No Doubt is one of the groups that I think everybody listens to, man, and everybody loves Gwen Stefani.

It's hard to have fun and make a fun album when you know that it's something that you need to say.

The truth never wears out.

My thing is, you have to let young artists be young artists.

I love what I live, and I live Islam, so I applied it to everything I do. I applied it to my rhymes, and I felt that I wanted the people to know what I knew.

Subconsciously, Islam took over me, so it was like eighty or ninety percent of the fabric of the person I was.

One of the main reasons why it didn't work out for me and Aftermath is because I felt my music should sound one way, and they felt it should sound another. But, I learned a lot from watching Dre, and when I left California, I knew it was time for me to get my own label.

In New York, they kind of rode with me from day one: they understand who I am.

As I grew up, a lot of the music was made to uplift the spirit.

I'm a fan of Jay-Z, from the negotiating table to the booth.

We need a few more Kanyes, people that's really passionate about hip-hop and who keep it alive.

I'm a fan of hip-hop as well. I like everybody who keeps the game on their toes and keep it pushing.

I started studying in '85 and got knowledge of self and started spitting. What was going on was taking the understanding of what I was reading and applying it with my life and applying it with my rhymes.

Maybe I'm too sensitive to the struggle, but I think a lot of people that listen to music are trying to escape.

I'm definitely one of them artists that loves putting the track on and having fun with it, but in my own way.

Hip-hop has taken a lot of different routes throughout the years, man. I've been around since 1986.