Quotes About Influence

Half of the modern world goes back as far as Pearl Jam. The real historians go back to U2. But they need to go back further. They have to go back to the '50s and '60s, where things started. That's how you get to be your own personality, by studying the masters. Rock and roll was white kids trying to make black music and failing, gloriously!

What I'm trying to do is teach people how to actually get individuals in organizations to do the kinds of things to make a difference. It starts with not just studying the mechanics but really understanding how people operate.

Frankly, I'm an actor right now because of Shah Rukh. When I was in school and even when studying engineering, I used to watch his films.

Ann Radcliffe was an early influence; I devoured her books while I should have been studying for my GCSEs.

My parents were very spiritual folks. I grew up studying the Bible. My dad's a Christian academy teacher. I grew up with a big spiritual influence. It's a big part of my life.

I didn't study no rappers when I was coming up. I was studying moguls. I was studying Jay Z. I was studying Puff. I was studying Master P.

I was listening to Chuck D, KRS, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, all the greats, studying them.

Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.

There is a lot of stuff we can't control, but it is completely in our power to decide what the definition of what a good job is. That's up to us.

I kept listening, kept going to see people, kept sitting in with people, kept listening to records. If I wanted to learn somebody's stuff, like with Clapton, when I wanted to learn how he was getting some of his sounds - which were real neat - I learned how to make the sounds with my mouth and then copied that with my guitar.

Jim Carrey and my dad were best friends. He would always be in my house and stuff like that.

I've done lots of songs for film soundtracks and things like that - stuff I'm not ashamed of, but that doesn't represent my legacy with the Pretenders.

Dropkick Murphys get me going, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana... plus, all the regular hip-hop stuff.

Gravity is more powerful where there's more stuff.

But then there was Hendrix, man. Jimi was really the last cat to freak me. Jimi was playing all the stuff I had in my head. I couldn't believe it, when I first heard him. Man, no one can ever do what he did with a guitar. No one can ever take his place.

I've always loved rock music. I've always loved stuff like the Specials and the Breeders and things like that. But it was hip-hop that really got me into music.

I get my flow from Daddy, my singing ability from Mommy, the camera stuff from both. That's just what happens when you hang out with the Smiths.

I've never done drugs. That's because I saw this stuff literally every day when I was 3 or 4 years old.

I got to know Elton John's older music by learning to like his newer stuff. 'The Lion King?' That's what I like.

After my grunge phase, I started opening my horizons and listening to more electronic stuff. I got into Radiohead, specifically 'Amnesiac' - my brother gave me that album.

Growing up in the Bay, I was still looking for a lot of East Coast hip-hop. I had an older homie put me on to a lot of stuff like Nas' 'Illmatic.'

I give it all to Based God, I'm just putting stuff together that the Based God gives me.

But, Tarantino has seen all of my movies. He's seen my good stuff, he's seen my bad stuff, he's seen the ones I directed, he's read my autobiography. There's an awful lot of things he knows about me, all of which I think had something to do with his casting.

At the time of Polaroid - and I did a couple of other commercials just before I stopped doing that stuff - at that point I was at the level where they respect you and your opinion and all that sort of thing.