Quotes from Black Thought

I'm not driven by the spotlight and I'm not that outgoing.

What we do every day onstage, there's lights, there's lots of other musicians, there's an audience, there's a microphone and mic stands - layers of the onion we have to kind of hide behind.

I grew up in the neighborhood where 'Rocky' came from.

My children have a world of opportunities that were not available to me. My kids have no idea about going without - there's no desire or need they have that hasn't been fulfilled, which is a blessing.

I'm in great company and some may say that the underexposure has added to my allure and the staying power of me as a MC and The Roots as a band.

I think we could really play the Olympics.

I feel like Black Thought is a name that has so much meaning and depth, not only to me but to my fans, that it's something that I wanted to hold onto a little bit tighter.

The thing that's carried over from my visual-art education into what I do musically is my openness.

I strive for improvement. want to be a master of my craft.

I'm down to work with anyone as long as it's an organic collaboration.

We always do kinda like the bare bones representation or variation of the voice and drums, which is what we feel is the foundation or backbone of rapping and hip hop.

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders the day I finally finished both verses for 'My Shot.'

You can always hear me breathing during my verses, but that breathing becomes part of the music.

At this point, in 2008, if you put out a book, a movie, or write a verse, paint a painting, it should have some sort of social value.

If there's a track that's rhyme friendly, the verse will basically write itself. If the track is less rhyme friendly, you have to put forth a little more effort to get the song out.

I've never studied music.

There are some millennial artists that I totally get and understand, and I know what they're talking about. People who I've worked with and who I'd like to work with. But there's a whole element of artists that I can't explain what they're talking about.

I'll read a book. I'll watch a documentary or a film or whatever. I'll go to an art exhibit and just try and open myself to influence.

Everything I do has been a lifetime in the making.

I've always sort of listened to news radio.