Quotes from Jadakiss

Politics runs music more than talent runs music.

My voice is my own instrument that I use to rap.

I don't need the big accolades when I die. Hit me with a couple good little ones: Kiss, one of the best voices in rap history.

After getting off Bad Boy and then finally getting on with the Ruff Ryders/Interscope deal, it was like being able to exhale. The studio sessions were a lot different than the Bad Boy studio sessions. Like, we were able to just do anything we want.

Being able to blend with the new kids and the youth will give you longevity and will put legs on your career.

Diddy was trying to squeeze the life out of me. I felt like I don't wanna keep giving him my bars. Cause he's taking from my tank. I need all of these bars.

We came from where people don't look like they have money anyway. We came up in an era where the dudes who had all of the money looked regular, the same way you see billionaires in some run down shoes or old jeans. You see how Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and those dudes dress. Even in our era, the dudes with the money weren't flashy.

Rap's the only music that they categorize like that. That's one thing that I hate, like, down South rap, or up North rap. Country is just country rather than wherever it's from. R&B, you don't call it Atlanta R&B, you know what I mean. So that's already like a shot at our culture.

You're supposed to grow as you get older.

You gotta keep working, baby. You gotta work. I got kids, I got bills, I like nice things - always buying cars and watches. I'm a sneaker-head.

The art of remaining consistent is keeping your ear to the street and the new music. Embracing the culture for what it is. You can't get a nice heat wave and then forget about the people. The more you put out music, the more strength and power you possess.

You only can do what you can do. Just make sure you're pleased with it as a individual and then you know some people gonna like it some people ain't, that's just part of the game.

My mom and pop took me to the Apollo Theater on my thirteenth birthday to see Heavy D and Keith Sweat. It was late at night, up on 125th Street, and it was crazy!

My dream was to go to Syracuse. I wanted to be a part of the Orangemen. I actually thought I was going there up until around 10th grade when I knew that wasn't really going to happen, so I started pursuing rap.

My pops got his own coffee company. My pop distributes coffee.

It's a business, when you understand what's going on in America, you'll know that the way they portrayed 9/11 to happen, is definitely not what happened. Do I know what happened? Definitely not.

I give you everything you want as an artist, for so long. Consistency. Wordplay. Wittiness. You can check the checklist. Only thing I don't check off on is album sales.

Better believe that, whenever I see y'all I'ma test ya Only cause I know that faggots respect pressure

Respect, brotherhood - the family comes first, and everything else falls in place after that.

For 'We Are the Streets,' we'd just gotten off Bad Boy. So we were just back in our element and were going up to Powerhouse every night just creating.

I think praying is very important. I'm not going to say that I'm very religious and I don't go to church as much as I should probably, but I definitely pray more than the average person. I'm a man of the Lord.

There's nothing wrong with working with no artist from any type of demographic, but you've still got to maintain what you do on whatever track it is.

I had one of those tape players with a strap on it and the orange button - the old-school recorder - and I'd record songs by Roxanne Shante, Run-D.M.C. and Biz, Markie. I'd try and learn the words. I've been rhyming since I was a young fella. I used to win talent shows by break dancing and rapping.

You know, hip hop is a big ferris wheel that goes around and you've just gotta be able to maintain yourself while it's going around.