- All Quotes
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I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But I'm also in the lineage of a Miles Davis - you know, that liked nice things also.
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Because when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in their face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you're disrespectful to inspiration, and we as musicians have to inspire people who go to work every day, and they listen to that Beyonce album and they feel like it takes them to another place.
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I used to have insecurity about my finances, then I announced that I had debt, and now I don't have any insecurities.
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I always feel like I can do anything. That's the main thing people are controlled by: thoughts and perceptions of yourself... If you're taught you can't do anything, you won't do anything
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I think I'm a whole lot to handle. I definitely am, on every aspect. I'm the video director. I'm the graphics designer. I'm the rapper. I'm the visionary. I'm the music producer. I'm the executive producer. I'm just going to end it off to be poetic: I'm the future of music.
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I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it's like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z.
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I know everybody asked me the question, they wanted to know, 'What, Kan, I know he's gonna wile out, I know he's gonna do something crazy.' Everybody wanted to know what I would do, if I didn't win... I guess we'll never know!
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People know I'm smart. And people know that, whether it's SNL or Jimmy Kimmel, it's a trend to take the piss out of celebrity -- just as much of a trend as wearing a gray hoodie or driving a Prius.
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The amount of people who talk about guns, versus who actually uses them, is not even close in this millennium.
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I used to have the Virgin music [stores], and I would go there and just go up the escalator and say to myself, 'I'm soaking in these last moments of anonymity.' I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen
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The bathrooms - that usually would be a porta-potty - were wrapped in a fabric that was neutral to match the fort ... the same materials that were used to cover the bathroom, we said, 'Let's just use that [to cover a bar at the reception], because this is all we have to make the bar look better.' Which it did, in the end.
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When I think of competition it's like I try to create against the past. I think about Michelangelo and Picasso, you know, the pyramids.
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People asked me to change my name for [808s]...I think the fact that I can't sing that well is what makes "808s" so special.
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What I had to learn from Kim is how to take more of her advice and less of other people's advice. There's a lot of Kim K skills that were added. In order to win at life, you need some Kim K skills, period.
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I'm really happy I'm me because if I wasn't I'd be scared. If you want that Number One spot you need to listen to my album and try to beat it.
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What I feel like - 'cause I wanna be married, of course - I feel like the type of girl I would be with is a fellow superhero. So we get that 'already flying and now we're just flying together' thing.
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Recognize and embrace your flaws so you can learn from them. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to truly shine.
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I specifically ordered Persian rugs with cherub imagery!!! What do I have to do to get a simple Persian rug with cherub imagery uuuuugh.
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I said Yo Jay, I can rap. And I spit this rap that said I'm killin' ya'll *****s on this lyrical sh*t, mayonnaise colored benz, I push miracle whips.
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An artist's career doesn't happen in the cycle of one week of news. An artist's career happens in a lifetime, and if you're a true artist you're willing to die for what you believe in.
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The hardest thing [for me] is to 'just' agree, and that is what sparks creativity, the feeling that something can be better, the feeling that something's missing, the feeling that something's needed.
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I think my sense of humor is really dark and super twisted and stuff like that. It's like, "Is this a funny joke for real? Or am I just rich?" See? That was funny.
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People will have a problem with whatever you do. At the end of the day, nobody can determine what you need to do in order to be successful and why would you listen to someone who is not successful tell you what you need to do?
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I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem, Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams. I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed, But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh.