Michael Che Quotes

My friends put me on to Mobb Deep when I was a little kid. I've always been a big fan.

The first album that I bought with my own money was 50 Cent's 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'.' That was, like, the 5th grade, 6th grade.

I listened to Lil Wayne a lot when I was kid.

I like Jay-Z. I love Luda. I love Ledisi. I like Beyonce, of course. I think she's just brilliant. She's a triple threat. But my favorite - my all-time rapper is Tupac. See, I could have been Tupac's girlfriend.

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.

I look at Lil Wayne as being from my generation.

Man, I listened Nas and B.I.G growing up. I listened to both of them when I was younger for sure.

I remember the first time I saw the 'Sugarhill Gang' on Soul Train. I was 11 or 12. I was like, 'What's going on? How did those guys get on national TV?' And then, when I was a little older, a rapper from the neighborhood got a record deal. I was shocked.

When I was sitting at home watching 'Yo! MTV Raps' as a kid, seeing the bright jackets excited me.

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.

I grew up with bubble-gum rap. Seriously, in 2003, 2004, it was Chingy 'Right Thurr.'

My rap name as a kid was Big Tasty.

Growing up in the '90s, I just loved 'Ice Ice Baby.' I knew, and still know, every single word to that song.

I'm a fan of hip-hop. I'm a fan of rap, so anything new that's happening, I'm hip to it.

Barack Obama embraced hip-hop, man. That's the way he got through to kids.

Being from Philadelphia, 'Parents Just Don't Understand' was a big deal - I have audio of my brother and me singing that song.

I always heard 50 Cent, Da Brat, Lil' Kim, all that in the house. My mom's playing them - 50 Cent, Kanye West.

Skateboarding was my introduction to rap and the first rap song that I really liked was KRS-One 'Step Into A World.'

I remember when Kriss Kross came out! I was round about the same age, or maybe a couple of years younger.

Scarface is my favorite rapper.

Rappers were my storytellers.

My kids listen to rap, so I try to keep up with as much as I can.

When I was up in New York, the first record my parents bought me was the Terror Squad record with 'Lean Back.'

I'm probably going to be ashamed to say this... It was a Sir Mix-a-Lot album. I think I was 12, 13. I had just enough money for the 'My Posse's on Broadway' single, so I bought that single. That was the first thing I bought with my own money.

There are guys like Chance the Rapper; I'm a big fan of his.