In high school I was making beats for my friends and for myself and rapping over them.
I've been rapping since I was 18 years old, with a crew called Blades.
I'll be honest with you: before I heard Nicki rapping, I probably wouldn't have thought to rap myself. Just to see a female doing it and being in there with the guys, it was motivation.
I'm not completely at ease at rapping, I can't do it well yet.
I don't take anything for granted. I know there are a million and one dudes who are rapping, wishing they were in my shoes.
I've never been the straight rapper that is going to stand in a cipher and battle all day. I started off battle rapping, but to me, making songs became more important than freestyles... I've met many rappers who can freestyle but can't make a record.
I was the kind of kid who loved singing. I loved rapping; I loved attention. But for me, it was more about chasing the dream of being a superstar because of the town I was from and because of what I'd seen.
Rapping was something I always wanted to do, so after school, my friends and I would catch the bus to my house and just sit there writing songs, every day.
Throughout my rapping career, I always cooked for myself and anyone I worked with. It's what actually kept me grounded through those crazy years.
I like producing beats, and I like rapping, too. I have a program for the PC, and I can hook my keyboard to it.
I was always feisty, always that kid that would be on the porch with a hairbrush singing or rapping.
I definitely use 'smiling while rapping' as a tool in the booth. I want to have fun while recording.
I've been rapping since I was 13.
Rapping can be repetition sometimes. Sometimes you gotta highlight your words in a certain kind of way. So I always was a fan of sing-rapping. It was always funny to me a little bit, and I think that being funny and being able to laugh, even at yourself, is a form of flattery.
You become more tolerant when you become older. You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.
The song that's affected me the most profoundly is probably Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,' or, more specifically, the couple seconds of instrumental break before Vincent Price starts 'rapping.'
When I first started making music, I was all about wordplay and how fast I could rap, but over the years, I've really gained an appreciation for melody. What's cool is that when you're singing, you have to be concise, and when you're rapping, you have the opportunity to be really detailed with your lyrics.
I don't plan to restrict myself to rapping in the future, and I didn't want to come off as too aggressive, which is why I thought about changing my name.
Rapping was a hobby; when I went to college, there were a ton of dudes rapping. I think that's where I got my rapping chops up.
I used to do design before I was actually rapping. I went to art and design high school.
I was part of a group called Casanova Fly, doing bouncer work, attending college and working in a pizza shop when I first met producer Sylvia Robinson who came into the pizza shop where I was flipping the dough. I was rapping in the park in Englewood, and she heard about what I was doing.
Myself, I'm just a simple country boy who spent time on the streets and developed a style of writing and rapping and a cool sound that people seem to enjoy.
I've never seen Kendrick Lamar crack a joke, and I've met him, but I'm sure he's hilarious, too, just because he's so good at rapping. J. Cole is a funny guy as well. Drake is funny. But who's the funniest guy I've met who is a rapper? I would say 50 Cent.
I feel like, O.K., if I can make it as a singer, then let me try rapping. If I can make it as a rapper, then let me try writing. All right? If I make it as a rap singer and writer, then why not try to produce? I don't feel limited in any way.
