25 of the biggest hip-hop quotes

Forty-five years of hip-hop.  Forty-five years of quotes from the giants and the fans.

“That’s why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to any club. People are intermingling, hanging out, having fun, enjoying the same music. Hip-hop is not just in the Bronx anymore. It’s worldwide. Everywhere you go, people are listening to hip-hop and partying together. Hip-hop has done that.” Jay-Z

My mama always used to tell me: ‘If you can’t find somethin’ to live for, you best find somethin’ to die for.” Tupac

"Somewhere deep down there's a decent man in me, he just can't be found."  Eminem

"We can teach about hip-hop history, we can teach about legends, hip-hop theory. It’s been around so long that text books can be written about it. This is a perfect time to capitalize on and get kids excited about [music] education. " Kanye West

"I mean everything's a lot more smoother. It's just calm. IN the beginning, I had the typical attitude of a young rapper makin money... ya know I was the partyin guy... I was the guy wit the girls... all the extra that came wit the game...it's up to the artist to know when to say when. You can't live that kind of lifestyle forever. ...I learn from the other people's mistake. I know when to say no. You learn to make the right decisions and pick the right choices. That's all that's really changed." The Notorious B.I.G.

"If people take anything from my music, it should be motivation to know that anything is possible as long as you keep working at it and don't back down." Eminem

“A lot of people like to fool you and say that you're not smart if you never went to college, but common sense rules over everything. That's what I learned from selling crack” Snoop Dogg

"I'm just basically spillin' out my emotions to the world. 'Cause rap is about emotion. And I want you to feel what I'm feelin', 'cause that's what it's all about." Ludacris

"I'm at a point where I don't have to wait for the income from the record to survive, so I'm in a comfortable zone, but I'll make rap records as long as I feel I have something to rap about." Ice-T

"Hip-Hop isn't just music, it is also a spiritual movement of the blacks! You can't just call Hip-Hop a trend!  Hip-Hop started out in the heart" Lauryn Hill

"When I first got into the rap game, I had an early dream of unifying rappers." Ice-T

“I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman because when I was trying to get a record deal, it was so hard to get a record deal on my own that it was either give up or create my own company.”  Jay-Z

“I don’t even listen to rap. My apartment is too nice to listen to rap in. I have to be in a way more grimey environment to turn any rap music on.” Kanye West

"The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable." Barack Obama

“I’ve been hated by many, wanted by plenty, disliked by some, but confronted by none.” Drake

“I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death.” Nas

“I'm like a child inside and I really get excited, so sometimes when I'm trying to go to bed, I'm so excited about the next day that I can't go to sleep.” Sean Combs

"Death is not the greatest loss in life.  The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive.  Never surrender"  Tupac

“When I'm not longer rapping, I want to open up an ice cream parlour and call myself Scoop Dogg.” Snoop Dogg

“If you believe that I’m a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut.” Ice-T

“I have a weird thing with giraffes, I don’t like their neck” Eminem

“We used to talk about wanting to get some money, but that's when hip-hop was based on your dreams and your fantasy. The whole thing now is the dreams and fantasies were achieved, and you don't want to make it the focal point. You can't keep beating that dead horse.” Sean Combs

“I liked how the letter B sounded. It sounded syncopated and percussive so that’s why I said  “baby bubba to the boogie bang bang the boogie” and all those Bs in Rappers Delight.” Wonder Mike

“That's the strange thing about making a record. You can be in one mood for an hour, put it on a record, and you're remembered that way.” Adam Yauch

“Every negative is a positive. The bad things that happen to me, I somehow make them good. That means you can’t do anything to hurt me.”  50 Cent

“I remember the first time I saw the 'Sugarhill Gang' on Soul Train. I was 11 or 12. I was like, 'What's going on? How did those guys get on national TV?' And then, when I was a little older, a rapper from the neighbourhood got a record deal. I was shocked.” Jay-Z

“So what if I'm smokin' weed onstage and doing what I gotta do? It's not me shooting nobody, stabbing nobody, killing nobody. It'sa peaceful gesture and they have to respect that and appreciate that.” Snoop Dogg