What do you think of the new generation of rappers, like Drake or Kid Cudi?
I think they’ve always been here. They were Q-Tip, they were Common Sense, Mos Def, Talib [Kweli]. They were smarter–these new guys are just hipsters. They got a coolness to them and a look. But back then, Common and them were saying something that was socially responsible. It was just smarter. I listened to them. I’m a fan. The perspective that I was actually seeing things from and was subjected to because of my living conditions made me a bigger fan of KRS-One Criminal Minded, [The Notorious B.I.G.’s] Ready to Die, those other things that had the aggression necessary to get by in my environment. It led me in that direction as an artist. But there wasn’t that much separation back then. You could hear Kool G Rap next to De La Soul. Those people were all from here. That’s when the art form was smaller, different movements happening at the same time. Radio stations have recognized that they don’t need the new New York City rapper to keeping being number one in their area. Motherfucking
