Quotes from Big Daddy Kane

What earns my respect is... I love great lyricists, artists that can create incredible rhymes or incredible songs. The same thing goes if you're a singer. I definitely respect that.

I always thought that was very important, to be able to deliver great lyrics and also put on a great performance, to have that type of visual where people would take to it, where they'd want to dress like you or have pictures of you hanging up on the wall.

Shame is something that's man-made.

I was a Barry White fan.

I'm used to being respected for what I do, and I've watched as my peers - Doug E. Fresh, MC Lyte - do the same thing and I remember the ones before me - LL, Run-DMC - how it was for them. I think we were able to achieve what we achieved because we watched the generation before us.

If you call 'Rapper's Delight' an old-school record, I agree with you. If you call Sugar Hill Gang old school, I agree with you. Not because they came out in '79 or '80, but because in 2002, that's still the way Hank and Mike rhyme.

It's the type of thing where, if you gonna battle somebody to prove your greatness, you wanna go to somebody that shares that same seat with you.

If I hadn't gone on the road with Patti LaBelle, then I wouldn't have brought Jay-Z on the road with me. When I saw her leave the stage to change clothes and allow the background singers to keep the show going, I said, 'That's something I wanna do.' So in the middle of my show, I would leave the stage and Jay-Z would come out and rhyme.

Life ain't a piece of cake for me.

People were taking off $5,000 gold chains to wear little $10 leather medallions that represented peace because that's what Public Enemy was about.

I hope everybody out here is supporting hip-hop and trying to make it continue on.

Pushers don't pay taxes.

Production-wise, 'Looks Like a Job For... ' is an incredible album. I think that the weak point of the album was really me.

Me and Rakim were always clear that we were rivals.

Rakim is a great lyricist. To me, it was always beautiful to be compared to him.

Good rap records don't get too far, but rap records that are made for crossing over to white audiences do go a long way.

There are desires that we all want to achieve, but remember respect is most greatest to receive.

Rap is good for politics because when you make a rap record, you put good music on a track and people listen to you. It's easier than trying to preach.

I was a big fan of Marvin Gaye, and when my parents were at work, I would get in front of the mirror, put my father's clothes on and pretend I was singing Marvin Gaye songs.

Prince of Darkness?' I don't know what the hell I was doing.

I don't get too political in my music, because some people tend to get bored with the message: I say what's necessary and leave it at that. The books of Malcolm X go deeper than any song. But entertainers can be educators. Music touches the soul. Knowledge touches the mind. When you combine the two, you capture the whole.

I think that a lot of times you have artists that try to deliver a positive message.

I knew how to be a voice for L.A., I knew how to be a voice for Detroit, I knew how to be a voice for London, I knew how to be a voice for Amsterdam.

If you're White then yes, you have White privilege. It's there for the taking if you choose to use it, you know, just keeping it 100.