Quotes & Sayings About Rappers

Rappers should be forced to rhyme in their acceptance speeches. — Doug Benson

The reason why rappers are living in - you know, driving in Mercedes-Benz's and living in neighborhoods is because they're selling their music, not just to the black community, but to the white community. — Eric Bolling

Only black people in the whole neighborhood, so let's break it down: Me, I'm a decent comedian, I'm a'ight. Mary J. Blige, one of the greatest R&B singers to ever walk the Earth. Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers to ever live. Eddie Murphy, one of the funniest actors to ever, ever do it. Do you know what the white man that lives next door to me does for a living? He's a f*****g dentist. — Chris Rock

I see N.Y. hip-hop like I see N.Y. streets. N.Y. streets are grimy; it's a grind. N.Y. rappers are hustlers - whatever sound is in, we can adapt to that; there's nothing wrong with that. — Nas

There are poor white people who hear rap music and feel it is about them, because it is. That's why you have an Eminem and a Bubba Sparxxx and rappers like that. — Russell Simmons

You guys are always going off about how much money you have. Do you realize what's going on in this world right now?' All these black rappers? African rappers? Talking about how much money they have. Do you realize what's going on in Africa right now? It's just like, you guys are disgusting. Talking about billions and billions of dollars you have. And spending it frivolously, when you know, the Motherland is suffering beyond belief right now. — Asher Roth

Ghost tells me every few years, Yo, you showed me this style ... I'm like, man, we the same style. At the end of the day, he's one of my favorite rappers, I'm one of his favorite rappers, and we just do it. — Raekwon

We rappers are role models. — Kanye West

Rappers aren't the really rich ones. We all have nice houses with studios and cars, but you need a piece of someone's business to be super wealthy. — Drake

All rappers are princesses like me. — Earl Sweatshirt

What's bad for the culture is wack rappers that get held in high regard like they're some great thing because it's the flavor of the month, but everybody knows they can't rap. I don't think it's hard, even for somebody who's not hip-hop, to know that that's not good. When you put them up against somebody that can really rhyme, you go, "Okay, I get it. This is what it should sound like." — Ice-T

I like getting my own thoughts out right now, I have fans to solidify, so that's why I don't do tracks with too many younger rappers or newer artists. People may consider me to be a music snob or whatever, but I like to preserve what's mine and I also don't just do tracks to do tracks, I make every song with a purpose. — Drake

You have rappers saying "stay off drugs, go to school" - empty verbal behavior. I think all of this became institutionalized in the early '90s. And it's become more and more solidified, more and more entrenched. — Carl Hart

If you look back, you get stuck in a year. I've seen rappers and singers get stuck in 2002 or 2005, and they can't get out. — Juicy J

With 'Hip-Hop Saved My Life,' I attempted to make 'Kick, Push,' but for rappers. To give a real basic play-by-play of the life of a rapper before he makes it - if he ever makes it, because you can get stuck in that and be trying to make it for the rest of your life. — Lupe Fiasco

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it usually aspiring gangsta rappers who set such store by designer labels? — Lynne Truss

I looked at the rap community like street kids wanting their own brand. But now I look at that period with the rappers in the 90s as a trend of the moment. What it taught me was never to follow a trend, because trends move on. — Tommy Hilfiger

Dogs live longer than rappers. — Nas

All rappers predominantly sound the same and want you to think their meanest person in the world, and that they're all gangster and all that. My acting allowed me to be playful and crazy, and it helps me tell stories and all that. I think it's a good time; rap needs that kind of stuff. — Nicki Minaj

It is crucial that rappers have the chance to express the truth that is in their heart. — Russell Simmons

Most rappers these days is actors,
And I can't keep watching the same movie. — Mick Jenkins

And I learned a lot from working with this kid, and I think he's gonna be a big star. Remember the name, Tim Dark, because he has something about his voice that's different from all the other rappers, even though his style is similar. — Alan Vega

People get caught up in worshipping certain rappers, or they try to demonise hip hop by looking at what certain rappers are doin' in their lives. — Afrika Bambaataa

Everybody in hip-hop discriminates against gay people. Matter of fact, the exact opposite word of 'hip-hop,' I think, is 'gay.' Like yo, you play a record and if it's wack, 'That's gay, dog!' And I wanna just come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it, fam.' — Kanye West

I think that's what most of us rappers do too often. We put too much information in some of our albums that could actually be on the next ones. — Schoolboy Q

In hip-hop, what you have is you have a lot of formulaic-type bands or rappers that come up. They saw something on the radio, and they want to mimic that formula. And that's just boring. I don't wanna record something just to make money; I want to record something to enjoy it and have fun because I'm a music lover. — Sir Mix-a-Lot

Back in the day, music imitated life. Now it's the opposite way around: life is imitating music. It's like whatever the rappers say, people think that that's how we're supposed to be; but back then, we kind of looked at the streets, and we made music for that. — Rakim

I don't consider myself an A-list celebrity or a big dog, but every time I meet somebody, even rappers who've been in the game for years ... they're like, 'Man, I'm trying to get on your level.' — Wiz Khalifa

I think that Mos Def is the best actor, but when you talk about rappers in films, I don't really think the quality of the acting is most important because most rappers are put in movies because of the personality and people want to see that. — Morris Chestnut

Young kids out here see what's on TV and feel like they can start rapping. They think rappers are rich and really have their own jets and Bentleys, but in lot of cases that stuff is rented. — Rahki

A lot of rappers want somebody to always sing on their records. If you can hold a note, they're gonna' ask you to come and be apart of their creativity. At that time, they were eager and on the streets selling drugs or in the studio making music. That was a big part of our lives were I grew up. — Nicki Minaj

A lot of people say I tried to emulate Tupac, but when I look back at my career, we're very different artists. I took pages out of Pac's book, of course, and lots of other rappers - Biggie, Nas - of course you take pages out of those books, but you eventually make it your own thing. And I think I did a good job of that. — Ja Rule

You can have a phenomenal booth artist and he can get in there and be a technician in the booth and it won't translate on the stage. I think that's what makes emcees emcees. Some rapper dudes are great rappers but it don't translate on stage. — Joell Ortiz

I remember rap music. We used to party and dance off of it. Today it's all about a whole different angle ... Rappers are going against each other, and it's more of a bragging, boasting thing. — Flavor Flav

Yo Premier, why these rappers so soft?
They corny ass raps be makin me doze off. — KRS-One

I always wanted to be one of the hottest rappers. — Meek Mill

The attitudes of many police organizations were extremely negative to the prospect of Rap, and many officials weren't afraid to say that they were against it. To them, Rappers were just criminals waiting to get caught. — Assata Shakur

I hate doing features because rappers take forever to get you their verses. — JD Era

I don't want to do one of those records where it's like a compilation of a bunch of all sorts of rappers on my beats. I don't find those to be focused albums. I'd like to sit and work a whole record with a certain person, to come up with a concept and see it through that way. — Flying Lotus

I've never been the straight rapper that is going to stand in a cipher and battle all day. I started off battle rapping, but to me, making songs became more important than freestyles ... I've met many rappers who can freestyle but can't make a record. — Queen Latifah

I was making crappy beats since I was, like, 17 or 18, using Florida rappers, where I'm from. Then I started DJ'ing because I just wanted to have a new job. — Diplo

When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot ... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn't have to represent the same thing. — Nicki Minaj

These other rappers getting bodied and carried away. — Drake

Few rappers realize the genre sprang from West African griots through Delta slave songs to jazz poetry and the comedic trash talk of 'the dozens.' — Quincy Jones

Don't respect a lot of rappers, feel I had a harder life — Kevin Gates

I still very much appreciate the storytelling of the best rappers. — Alex Turner

I don't even like New York rappers. — ASAP Rocky

There are so many rappers now that it's cluttering our culture. 90% of the time at a show there are more artists in the crowd than there are fans - it's too much. Too many people try to give you CD's. — Statik Selektah

When I first got into the rap game, I had an early dream of unifying rappers. — Ice-T

There are some rappers out there that I listen to, that I'm like: "You are really good but you could be like the Michael Jordan of rap if you applied yourself." There's a lot of people who are better at basketball than Michael Jordan, but Michael Jordan just wanted to be Michael Jordan, more. — Donald Glover

You know, fame is a funny thing, man, especially, you know, actors, musicians, rappers, rock singers, it's kind of a lifestyle and it's easy to get caught up in it - you go to bars, you go to clubs, everyone's doing a certain thing ... It's tough. — Eminem

Oh, southern rappers ... so hard to write a rhyme when you only know 30 words. — Daniel Tosh

Over the years, a lot of rappers - Lil' Wayne, Ice Cube - have used my name in their songs. I'm a real touchstone of history. — Rodney King

The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence. And they'll tell you if you ask. — Isaac Hayes

Rappers make what's in, in. If we want to bring back something like Jordache, we just say it and the girls start wearing it. We have a lot of pull. — Nelly

I'm gonna be real - there's no female rappers in the game. — SpaceGhostPurrp

I'm serious; I don't, I don't rap. I flow; I'm a flow-er. You've got rappers, you got MCs, and then you got flow-ers, I'm a flow-er. — Method Man

The difference between blues, jazz, rock n' roll and rap is that rap stayed poor. Even the white rappers are poor. It's scarier to look at poor people; it makes everyone uncomfortable. Their pain is something that people would like to see swept under the rug. — Russell Simmons

You don't want R&B singers to get into beef. Leave that to the rappers, let them do that - R&B, be classy. — R. Kelly

Another thing rappers, I admire your rebellious spirit, but materialism is a form of mental slavery. Slow down on the jewelry, pick up a book. — Dov Davidoff

I understand what rappers are talking about. I think rap is less about educating people about the black community and more about making money. — Dennis Rodman

Guys pit female rappers against each other because female rappers - if you haven't noticed of late - are a lot more interesting than guys. — Angel Haze

So please take a seat if you really can't stand it, got success in my pocket and these rappers in a panic — Drake

To me, hip hop will never be right until female rappers have a stronger voice in it. — Queen Latifah

Rappers should just be able to perform what they create and satisfy the people that like and love them. — Chuck D

Us as rappers underestimate the power and effects that we have on these kids — Macklemore

Rappers are in danger
Who will use wits to be a remainder? — O.C.

I have a Rolex, but no diamonds. Rappers wear diamonds to compensate for a lack of fashion sense. I don't even have pierced ears - I'm not into that; it's too much. — ASAP Rocky

Most rappers are black men. If you're a black man, you owe something to the community that you came from. If you're rapping about the community that you came from, and you're romanticizing parts of it for the entertainment of people who don't look like you, you certainly owe something to the community. — Killer Mike

All these Lil' rappers, I'm just kind of getting real irritated by it. I said, 'You know what? Drop the Lil'. Forget it. I'm Bow Wow. — Bow Wow

I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent. — Talib Kweli

I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when rap was inspirational. Public Enemy were awesome. But it's all about status and bling now, and it doesn't say anything to me. — Noel Gallagher

Rich people are so eccentric, and I don't think people really realize. Especially by the turn of the century, they were living like rappers, and there was no income tax. They are some of the most fascinating people, and I am endlessly fascinated. — Riki Lindhome

Why shouldn't rap be esoteric, able to take in current events, history and criticism? I guess it's this old idea of containment - that rappers, because they're black, can't and shouldn't aspire to look outside the ghetto for influence. — Saul Williams

However, people need to understand that it ain't that deep to try and convince people of what your persona is. You are who you are, and what you are will show in time. What you aren't can be hidden, but eventually it will come to light. Long story short: rappers should never take themselves too seriously. — Wale

Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal,
MC's spit rhymes to uplift their people. — KRS-One

Biggie was a lyrical genius: he was a musical painter with words. As he rapped, you would see the picture come to life as you heard his story. You hear a lot of rappers rap; you hear a lot of singers sing, but you don't see the movie in your head the way you do when you hear Biggie rap. — R. Kelly

I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too ... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ. — Curtis Jackson

Bebop and hip-hop, in so many ways, they're connected. A lot of rappers remind me so much of bebop guys in terms of improvisation, beats and rhymes. My dream is to see hip-hop incorporated in education. You've got the youth of the world in the palm of your hand. — Quincy Jones

It's like they want to shut rappers down. They want to silence us. The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer. — Ice-T

Dealing with the old school rappers, you see a lot of humility. When you're new, nothing is wrong. Everything is tight. Because you're trying to hype the world into believing in you. — Ice-T

Rap is hardcore street music but there are women out there who can hang with the best male rappers. What holds us back is that girls tend to rap in these high, squeaky voices. It's irritating. You've gotta rap from the diaphragm. — Cheryl James

The best rappers I know are, like, air-conditioner men. — Action Bronson

How many rappers in the game have "little" in front of their name?
Lil' Wayne, Lil' Boosie it's a lil' shame
Lil' Flip, Lil' Cease, yo they not the same
Lil' Wyte, Lil' Mama, where Lil' Zane?
Little Brother, Lil' Jon, and Lil' Fame
Real hip hop, not about your lil' chain
Lil' Keke, Lil' Kim a lil' freaky
Lil' Fizz, Illegal with Lil' Maliky
Lil' Mo, Lil' Bow Wow had beef with Lil' Romeo
A lil' teenager told me so ... — Ed O.G.

Soap opera rappers, all these niggas sound like 'All My Children'. — Drake

I feel like ... I don't have a wife, I don't have a kids, but ... I see rappers and I'm like, I know that's fake. I know how much you make, this is all bullshit. But people are buying into it, and you shouldn't have that power. I'm legit trying to make honest moves so that all of us can grow. I want to make a show where my sister can work on and become a producer because she can't get in, no one's leting her. I want to make things where people can actually grow. A place where people can actually be honest. — Donald Glover

For a while, the genre seemed to be just about sex and crime. Rappers are storytellers; the stories don't need to be true! — Lauryn Hill

I wrote and produced millions and millions of selling records, so my publishing company alone was worth millions of dollars. I didn't have to work anymore in life because when the rappers started sampling ... I'm the most sampled artist in history. — Rick James

There was a lot of negative that was put on rappers for using the word, and I feel like we're just misunderstood. Most of us are; some of us is just plain wack. — Nas

No-frill rappers: you will evaporate, disintegrate, deflate to your fate,
as the great will dominate straight to the state
Of reignin', gainin' ... So put Kane in
That category. Period. End of story. — Big Daddy Kane

It seems like I have more in common - or hit it off better - with rappers than fools that are in rock music. It was always natural for me. — Travis Barker

For years I've been seeing my young brothers wearing Scarface T-shirts, John Gotti T-shirts, Rick James T-shirts. We don't have any icons or idols to look up to, just rappers and professional athletes. — Lamar Odom

As a kid, I loved storytelling, and I liked the way rappers would paint pictures. — Jensen Karp

I've been around a lot longer than most rappers stay around. So I don't feel like, I haven't made too many career mistakes. — Ice Cube

What if Eminem was black? would he have sold five mil.
Or would he be 1 out of 5 million rappers with no deal? — Fredro Starr

A couple years ago it was really hard for me to sing, because there's so much pressure in hip-hop to be a certain way. My biggest thing right now is doing me, because I'm not like other rappers. — SonReal

I always had pressure on myself through my life. I put pressure on myself and not from other people. I always wanted to be one of the hottest rappers. So the pressure comes from myself. — Meek Mill

I was one of the richest rappers in 2008. But it was definitely a strange feeling. — Will Ferrell

People said that way back in the early days I was probably one of the first rappers; the reason is that I couldn't sing, so I had to talk! Lou Reed was probably the one who started it all. — Alan Vega