All MOS DEF Quotes about “Hip Hop”

“This thing called rhymin' is no different than coal minin'; We both on assignment to unearth the diamond.”

“Beef is not what Jay said to Nas; Beef is when the working folks can't find jobs.”
“The new moon rode high in the crown of the metropolis. Shinin', like "Who on top of this?”
“Why did one straw break the camel's back? Here's the secret: The million other straws underneath it.”
“I seen her on the ave, spotted her more than once. Ass so fat that you could see it from the front.”
“Why do I need ID to get ID? If I had ID, I wouldn't need ID.”
“Breathe in...inhale vapors from bright stars that shine, Breathe out...weed smoke retrace the skyline.”
“Yo, it's 1 universal law but 2 sides to every story, 3 strikes and you be in for life, mandatory. 4 MC's murdered in the last 4 years, I ain't tryin to be the 5th one, the Millennium is here. Yo, it's 6 million ways to die, from the 7 deadly thrills, 8-year olds gettin' found with 9 mill's. It's 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What's the deal?”
“I can't take it y'all I can feel the city breathin Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening Sigh before we die like the last train leaving”
“Every time you ask yourself where hip-hop's going, ask yourself where you're going; how are you doing?”
“I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.”
“I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.”
“Hip-Hop went from selling crack to smoking it”
“Hip-hop is rock & roll. What the hell is Wu-Tang but Motorhead?”
“There was a time when hip-hop was its own musical principle, aside from sampling. Like the entire Wild Style break is instrumental. Kurtis Blow's earliest stuff was studio musicians playing. Whodini had a real clear sound, things like "five minutes of funk," stuff that you could write really beautiful, lush string and horn arrangements around, stuff that was just music.”
“I think hip-hop is actually one of the most challenging things that's happened in music in a long time. The people who are in charge of what people see or hear are afraid. What you hear on top 40 or what you see on BET or MTV is not a fair representation of what is really going on...”

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