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" I don't think that early hip hop stood out to be a social critique. A lot of fans of mine think that hip hop's ultimate responsibility is to critique social structures. "
Talib Kweli
Fans
Early
Think
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" You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature. "
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" I don't go into any album with pressing issues. I just try to write songs. "
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" I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility. "
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" You'll be fooled if you only get your hip-hop from the mainstream, you know. The things that move people are not just found in the mainstream cultures. And when we talk about hip-hop in general, hip-hop's basically preoccupied with life. "
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" There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle. "
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" It doesn't get any more underground, conscious or indie than Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, but because they got a couple of really big pop hits, actually some of the biggest pop hits that hip-hop has ever seen, people are missing that part of their story. People are not counting that blessing. "
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" Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction. "
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" I started rapping because I wanted people to hear what I have to say, I want as many people to hear me as possible, and I do everything in my power to make that pop. "
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" The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion. "
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" I think hip-hop is no more misogynistic than America is as a society. I just think hip-hop is a lot more brash, a lot more bold, a lot more loquacious. There are a lot more words that go into a hip-hop song than go into a regular song. "
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" 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. "
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" 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. "
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" Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well. "
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Even
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Looking
" So I just had to step up how I was doing it and the moment that I stepped up and the moment I focused all my energy on that is when things started to happen. So there's a direct relationship between my inspiration and my output. "
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Step
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" Before Eminem, the idea that there would be a white rapper that anybody would really check for was fantastic or amazing or impossible. "
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" Hip-hop is a vehicle. "
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" I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18. "
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" If I'm performing with a DJ, it's all on me to draw the energy. I like the camaraderie of a band. "
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" I think the line is where you're in the studio, you're creating. That belongs to you as an artist. Nothing should taint that. I shouldn't be thinking about what the fans want, I shouldn't be thinking about what the radio wants, what the label wants, what your manager wants, a song for the chicks, a song for the street. "
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You
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" I think that I am seeing the Internet and seeing technology take and seeing how the work I do through music directly affects people's lives better than any politician I've ever met. "
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" Being called 'conscious' is a great thing to be, but it's the connotations and preconceived notions that come with the buying audience about what conscious music can be. "
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" So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent. "
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" Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce. "
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Sauce
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" I don't feel comfortable making empty music. "
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" I take certain steps to make sure I'm relevant artistically. I always have new music and a reason to be on the road. I'm not just playing 'Get By' over and over. I have 12 albums. "
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" I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified. "
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" Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is. "
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" The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with. "
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" I am not a prisoner of conscious, but people try to make me one sometimes. It is both a gift and a curse. It's a high honour but can create limitations - I have to be fluid. "
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" But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected. "
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