Musician

That's the thing with social media: it's a gift and a curse. It's cool on one level, but it's also bad.

I like soul, I like rock, I like new wave, I like punk music, I like blues, I like jazz, and I was brought up on all of them from a young boy all the way to my teenage years, when I was wild and crazy, in college.

The great thing was that both K-Ci and JoJo told me to not make an R&B track that was reminiscent of radio hit records. 'Make a Gang Starr track and we'll write our lyrics to that,' they told me. They couldn't stress it enough.

Jay Z and Biggie and Nas always listened to my direction. They listened and they applied it and I also listened to their opinions and that's why the records came out so good.

I'm not really a comparison dude. Even when people say 'Big or Pac?,' because they're two totally different types of lyricists.

God knows I'm a good guy, I'm known in the industry as a good guy. I'm not known to be a foul, evil dude that you've got to watch out for and my name is not muddy in the industry.

I don't shop beats. That was never my method coming up. I think it's very strange to have a CD of 30 or 40 beats and then just pick one.

I know what a Gang Starr album that's done is supposed to sound like.

When I miss Guru, I bump one of our records. Then I shed a tear and get back to work.

I'm super cool with Kanye.

You can't do seven successful albums and just hate each other. Our yin and yang, and night and day, is what made us great when we went into the studio.

I've always wanted to work with Klashnekoff. He's been around for years! He's sorta my age but he is dope. The flow, the lyrics, it's just dope music.

Jazz came from the streets, hip-hop came from the streets. It's just a different language. It's all borne out of hard times, struggle, and the fight to have equality and things be better.

I'm a very humble guy, but of course I think I'm dope.

My crew used to listen to 'Taking It to the Top' by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

I'm known for taking a long time getting music out, partially, my schedule is bananas, I'm only human, and then on top of that, I'm a one-man-producer.

I'm not a tough guy, but I'll throw down just like the rest of them if I have to.

I came out with sounds that didn't sound like the usual hip-hop beat. I took that chance because no one would identify with me if I sound like somebody who's already out.

With 'Family and Loyalty,' I didn't already have an idea for that video. So I called Fab Five Freddy. I wanted to get a director that I didn't have to explain Gang Starr to and he was with it.

Guru died tragically and there were so many rumors about how he went out. I got to see him in the hospital right before he passed, and one of the last things I said to him before I walked out of the room was that I was going to make sure that his family was straight.