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Rapper Quotes by Jay-Z

45 Rapper quotes by Jay-Z

All Rapper quotes Jay-Z’s page

Hip‑hop is portrayed as a bridge that carries culture and makes it feel reachable. The quotes explain how a simple studio session can turn an artist into a star overnight, and they push back against the narrow image of rappers in chains and clubs. They also note that the genre can spark social mixing and challenge old stereotypes.

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Hip-hop is a perfect mix between poetry and boxing.

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I'm not saying I'm God. But as far as lyrics, I'm God MC.

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You could name practically any problem in the hood and there'd be a rap song for you.

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I spring train in the winter, around early December...

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Don't tell me what was said about me. Tell me why they were so comfortable to say it to you.

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The day Obama got elected, the gangsta became less relevant.

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Rap has been a path between cultures in the best tradition of popular music.

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I think Lil Wayne is extremely talented. I think he's one of the most talented ones out there.

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Hip-hop gave a generation a common ground that didn't require either race to lose anything; everyone gained.

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Rap for me is like making movies, telling stories, and getting the emotions of the songs through in just as deep a…

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Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any…

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I think it's very important for hip-hop, when an artist reaches a certain level, to ascend to executive work.

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Primarily I see myself as so much more than a rapper. I really believe I am the voice for a lot of…

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I don't think any rapper can go back. You can be a car salesman, a bank teller - I mean, really good…

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The day Obama got into office, rap was less important because Obama gave kids an alternative. But will rap ever go away?…

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Hip-hop has done more for race relations than most cultural icons; and I say save Martin Luther King, because his 'I Have…

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My passion is music, you know, and music influences culture, influences lifestyle, which leads me to 'Roc-A-Wear'. I was forced to be…

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I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, 'Rap is a young man's game,' and they keep…

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Everyone's supposed to stay in their lines and be neat. 'You're a rapper. You're supposed to rap, carry a boom box, wear…

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I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Reid and Universal Music Group have given…

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“We give violent movies a pass but come down hard on a rapper like Scarface, who is ultimately a storyteller just like…

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'Blueprint 3' is made up of songs, but it's also a commentary on the idea that in order for rap to survive,…

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With rap, you go in the studio, you make music, you put the music out, then all of a sudden, you're a…

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I don't profess to be a political rapper, like groups such as 'Dead Prez' or 'Public Enemy', but I think social commentary…

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My life after childhood has two main stories: the story of the hustler and the story of the rapper, and the two…

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I noticed that difference early on, like if you were successful in rock 'n' roll, that was a really bad thing, you…

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“The art of rap is deceptive. It seems so straightforward and personal and real that people read it completely literally, as raw…

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But this is one of the things that makes rap at its best so human. It doesn't force you to pretend to…

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“The music is meant to be provocative—which doesn’t mean it’s necessarily obnoxious, but it is (mostly) confrontational, and more than that, it’s…

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“Rappers, as a class, are not engaged in anything criminal. They're musicians. Some rappers and friends of rappers commit crimes. Some bus…

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“Hip-hop has always been controversial, and for good reason. When you watch a children's show and they've got a muppet rapping about…

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“The story of the rapper and the story of the hustler are like rap itself, two kinds of rhythm working together, having…

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I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam's fantastic legacy and…

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Biggie was the King Of New York as a rapper. There's a lot more dangerous guys than Biggie Smalls out there, you…

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That's the reason why I'm making albums. That's the reason why I love hip-hop: It's a challenge every time.

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I'll make a song with Rick Rubin, a song with Beyonce, a song with Lenny Kravitz. I just believe in making good…

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Hip-hop is more about attaining wealth. People respect success. They respect big. They don't even have to like your music. If you're…

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Rap for me is like making movies, telling stories, and getting the emotions of the songs through in just as deep a…

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If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be Lyrically, Talib Kweli Truthfully, I wanna rhyme like Common Sense But I did…

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That's why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to any club. People are…

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More by Jay-Z

At 42 be better than 24, I carried the 4-5, mastered 48 laws.

Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way…

Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in…

New York - I'm connected. This is my core. I feel like if I'm not connected to New York, then I don't even know…

It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…

“THEY NEVER TAUGHT MARCUS GARVEY IN OUR SCHOOL CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IS THEIR GOLDEN RULE”

I'm a person that works off of music. I let the music dictate the direction.

Tears on the mauseoleum floor. Blood stains the coliseum doors. Lies on the lips of a priest. Thanksgiving disguised as a feast.

Around 20. I'd been trying to transition from the streets to the music business, but I would make demos and then quit for six…

There's the gift, there's the spirit, and there's the work-all three have to come together. If one of those things is off, it can…

All black everything, Ni**a you know my fresh code. Im out here fightin for you, dont increase my stress load.

I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.…

Lord forgive me I never would've made it without sin.

In trouble waters I had to learn how to float

Their gunnin' for me, want to see me fall, you know my story, been through it all, times I felt like dyin', but I…