Claims Quote by Chuck D

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

— Ice Cube

The problem is that rap is so often a caricature of its own image. Nobody comes to the table with the seriousness of the…

— K'naan

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…

— Saul Williams

The roots of rap are originally ghetto-ised or extremely working class. So when you're an artist who's making something which isn't how its mainstream…

— Zadie Smith

Rap is just a movement within the larger culture of hip-hop.

— Cornel West

I think rap is all about what you feel about a situation and not just about cars, alcohol and women.

— Raftaar

Everybody knows with rap artists, if you can't go to the hood, it's almost like you're not authentic, even if you're a dope artist…

— DJ Premier

Rap is really just too conventional. Everybody does the same thing. No one ever pushes the box.

— Tyler, The Creator

In order to get new things to rap about, you've gotta live.

— Lil B

When you talk about rap you have to understand that rap is part of the Hip-Hop culture.

— Afrika Bambaataa

When you're trying to bring the streets into rap to prove a point, then you already lost. You separate the two, and that ain't…

— Young Jeezy

Rap has so many possibilities that need to be explored. There are different factions of rap, but some are in a rut. Rap doesn't…

— Michael Franti