Born on June 15th

"In the field of mindfulness & peace, be present in this breath, for it is the only moment where life is actually happening."

"Peace is not the silence of the storm, but the calm center you maintain within yourself. As a creative innovator, this is the foundational truth I have observed."

"Let go of the weight of yesterday, and receive the clear canvas of this present day."

"Truth is the ultimate power. When the truth comes around, all the lies have to run and hide."

"I never was in the Nation of Islam... I mean, what I call myself is a natural Muslim, 'cause it's just me and God. You know, going to the mosque, the ritual and the tradition, it's just not in me to do. So I don't do it."

"Don't worry about being a star, worry about doing good work, and all that will come to you."

"I love music. It's freedom, a way to deal with pent-up frustration."

"Doing it your own way, not having to go exactly by the book to be successful."

"I think rap music is brought up, gangster rap in particular, as well as video games, every other thing they try to hang the ills of society on as a scapegoat."

"I do what I do. You like it, great. You don't, go listen to somebody else. I'm stickin' with the people who stuck with me."

"I think, to me, reality is better than being fake."

"Anything that got to do with a pig, I ain't eatin'."

"The moral is that a career can be gone in an instant. And all you have in this world are the people you love."

"I make a mean cup of coffee, if you give me the right ingredients."

"Rap is just somebody getting something off his chest. That's all it is."

"I think the worst thing you can do about a situation is nothing."

"There's never really been a real hood Christmas movie."

"My worst ever car was a green Datsun B210, back when they called it 'Datsun' - now it's 'Nissan.' Very unsexy, unattractive. Girls hated the car. I was embarrassed to even be in it... but it was my transportation."

"I never get tired of 'It Was A Good Day' references or jokes or anything like that. It's just, you know, keeping my biggest hit alive. Nothing wrong with that."

"We're in this entertainment business really to give the audience what they want."

"I think I'm unique to the game 'cause of my versatility."

"Our records, if you have a dark sense of humor, were funny, but our records weren't about comedy. They were about protests, fantasy, confrontation and all that."

"Young people are dying for no reason all over the world that don't know why. It's ugly, everywhere."

"There's a lot of potential that goes unused in places like South Central L.A., a lot of brilliant, smart people who just don't have that chance to show it."

"I really appreciate family. I really can't imagine life without them!"

"If you think about stuff that happened when you were young, it stays with you forever."

"If it was all about me, I'd do a whole lot of pop records, make a whole lot of money, just rake in the dough. But it's never been all about me. It's all about being a voice for the voiceless. People who can't speak for themselves, who don't have a mic, don't have a say."

"South Central is just who I am. Even though I have a nice house, nice family, the rest of my generation is still in South Central L.A. My cousins, my brothers, my sisters, they don't wanna move out."

"I was ready to get out of the box and play something a little different than what everybody has seen."

"Rap is always evolving. It's easy for the old school to hate the new school, but it's a music that got a little stifled I think, by the Internet a little bit."