Quotes from Goldlink

I used to do push-ups every morning from 6:00 to 8:00.

One of my friends is serving 33 years. Armed robbery. Those are the things you should rap about. I don't think you should glorify it at all. I don't really glorify it. I just talk about it. There's nothing special about that life.

I went to my first go-go when I was in, like, sixth grade.

I grew up with go-go music. We wasn't really hip-hop fans.

As cliche as that sounds, Maya Angelou is one of the best writers I've ever read. She's very wise and to the point.

I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that things happen for a reason, and I think God has things - whether it's good or bad - happen towards a bigger picture that you don't necessarily understand at the present time.

I never imagined myself being a rapper.

I guess rap has such a bad name, because everybody can do it now, and that's probably why people don't want to be considered as rappers anymore, they're not taken seriously anymore. But yeah, rap is definitely the core of what I want to do. But I'm also an artist so I try to do as many things as I can, but I always keep rap in the equation.

I started rapping when I was 18-19.

Edgar Allan Poe is amazing because he was so dark. He's from Baltimore and so cynical that you can feel it when you're reading, it feels so honest.

There wasn't any one particular moment where I realised, you know what, I'm going to be a musician. The decision more came from a lack of options.

I always tell people, when I was growing up I was really into getting money - I didn't really care about anything else.

I think for men and women, there's a different dynamic when it comes to love. Because I feel like a man who falls in love with a woman falls harder than a woman falling for a man. We're not emotionally as accepting as women are.

You know, Slick Rick was tight at telling stories.

I could rap really good on accident. I talk tight and it just sounded... I don't know. It's just such a big genre for me. At the end of the day, rap is the language of the world.

Do you know what kills me? The cropped hats. The beanies that are rolled up past your ears, in the summer as well! There's no function to it.

I don't have a hip-hop goal but I want to headline Bonnaroo one day.

Balance is good. You should always have balance... you need it to survive.

There's nothing wrong with being a hippie.

I tell stories about the people around me, I tell stories about me. I tell stories about my hood.

With 'Opening Credit,' we were trying to establish a certain tone and put people in a specific mood.

With 'At What Cost,' I was basically reliving a time in my life during the go-go era. I remember when it was popping for my generation and how that felt and what it looked like.

The only important things are family and love.

There's more to music than just words over tracks.