Now People Won't Beat You

Artists Look At The Environment, And The Best Artists Correctly Diagnose The Problem. I'm Not Saying Artists Can't Be Leaders, But That's Not The Job Of Art, To Lead. Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Harry Belafonte - There Are Artists All Through History Who Have Become Leaders, But That Was Already In Them, Nothing To Do With Their Art.

Honestly, You Have To Take Care Of Yourself. That's Probably Something I Have Learned On The Road.

If I Focus On Being An Activist And My Job Is To Be A Rapper, I'm Not Going To Be As Good Of A Rapper. I Need To Focus On Hip-hop And Focus On Making The Music, So That When The Activists Come To Me And They Need My Voice To Create A Platform, Then I've Got Enough People Listening To Me. Not Because I'm Conscious, But Because I'm Dope.

I Don't Feel Comfortable Making Empty Music.

People Consider Black Star A Great Album, And I Think It's A Classic Album. But The Fact Is, Both Me And Mos Def Have Made Better Albums Since Black Star.