I would not consider myself to be a quote unquote real New York rapper. I don't even like New York rappers.
People think, 'Oh, I don't need to worry about him,' and they underestimate me because I am a rapper.
People in China criticized President Obama for chewing gum while entering the economic summit in Beijing. They're saying he looked like a rapper. Then again, to be fair, in China I look like a rapper.
I feel like a lot of people in the hip hop world don't take me seriously as a rapper, and I feel that first-and-foremost I came up as a rapper before I started singing. All a lot of people know from me is 'Cupid's Chokehold,' and they don't scratch the surface and see beyond that dude who sings the song about his girlfriend.
Financially, people always assume you're good when you're a rapper.
Being a black rapper is like being a Southern, socialite woman: You're always worried about appearances.
People always put you in a box as a rapper, especially when I get up on a panel and start speaking, and I start speaking when I got some sense. They're like, 'Oh, well, I didn't expect him to have sense.'
I want to do more to create more awareness so that the people in our communities aren't just thinking that you just got to be a basketball player or a rapper, because that's what I thought.
You know who was on time tonight, which surprised me? Ghostface. Ghostface was early and making calls - what rapper does that?
If an athlete plays the guitar, they say, 'That's so cool, he can play the guitar.' But if a guy raps, they say, 'Please don't be another rapper,' only because the rappers are so bad. I promise I'm not anything like that.
