--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hip-hop was my first audience - I would…" description: "\"Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.\" — Derek Luke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg" --- # Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror… ![“Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.” quote by Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg) > “Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.” [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early exposure to hip‑hop shaped his artistic confidence and identity. **In simple terms:** Hip‑hop inspired his self‑expression. Key Takeaway Embrace early passions for growth. Themes identity confidence music self‑expression Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - Practice rap in private - listen to music while walking - use mirror for performance Key Concepts Hip‑hop culture personal development Questions to Reflect On - How did early listening habits influence your style? - What role does a mirror play in self‑confidence? A Different Perspective Limited to personal experience, may not apply universally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Hip hop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-hop/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Rap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rap/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [I love hip-hop and you can't tell me I'm not a hip-hop artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-love-hip-hop-and-you-can-t-tell-me-i-m-not-a-hip-hop-artist/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I aim my music at the hip black hip-hop audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heavy-d/i-aim-my-music-at-the-hip-black-hip-hop-audience/) [Heavy D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heavy-d/) > [I want to plug back into the hip-hop audience. Whether it be fans who grew up watching 'Yo!', or people who have become familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fab-five-freddy/i-want-to-plug-back-into-the-hip-hop-audience-whether-it-be-fans-who/) [Fab Five Freddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fab-five-freddy/) > [I still gotta reacquaint myself with the hip-hop audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/method-man/i-still-gotta-reacquaint-myself-with-the-hip-hop-audience/) [Method Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/method-man/) > [I expect the hip-hop audience to be avant garde. I want them to be where I'm at or beyond where I'm at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-expect-the-hip-hop-audience-to-be-avant-garde-i-want-them-to-be/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [People underestimate the hip-hop audience and the capacity to understand politics when it's part of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/people-underestimate-the-hip-hop-audience-and-the-capacity-to/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) > [Hip-hop has always been exciting and interesting to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bangalter/hip-hop-has-always-been-exciting-and-interesting-to-us/) [Thomas Bangalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bangalter/) > [I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-put-the-truth-out-there-i-put-the-historical-facts-into-hip-hop-to/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Feed me hip-hop and I start tremblin'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/feed-me-hip-hop-and-i-start-tremblin/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) > [I think hip hop allows us to talk about everything, and Africa is what I choose to talk about now. If people are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-hip-hop-allows-us-to-talk-about-everything-and-africa-is-what/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Rev Run is a living legend of Hip-Hop, who's still making great music, but now he's also the dad to an amazing family, ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-disanto/rev-run-is-a-living-legend-of-hip-hop-who-s-still-making-great-music/) Tony DiSanto > [For me, growing up in hip-hop culture, it's all about having the next style, the new fashion, the new way to express yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/for-me-growing-up-in-hip-hop-culture-it-s-all-about-having-the-next/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/wherever-i-go-i-bring-the-culture-with-me-so-that-they-can-understand/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) ## More by Derek Luke > [I get to be in movies where it's mostly dialogue, and I want to be in something, that for me, feels like kickboxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-get-to-be-in-movies-where-it-s-mostly-dialogue-and-i-want-to-be-in/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [Sometimes my faith becomes more sensitive to how people feel, as opposed to what needs to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/sometimes-my-faith-becomes-more-sensitive-to-how-people-feel-as/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [Then I was working in a store in Newark, New Jersey, and I saw an actor in person, and I got so excited. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/then-i-was-working-in-a-store-in-newark-new-jersey-and-i-saw-an-actor/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I love hip-hop and you can't tell me I'm not a hip-hop artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-love-hip-hop-and-you-can-t-tell-me-i-m-not-a-hip-hop-artist/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I had a lot of fun with Val Kilmer. He's like a big kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-had-a-lot-of-fun-with-val-kilmer-he-s-like-a-big-kid/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I don't think people come to television for spectacle. And I don't really have a lot of fun writing spectacle for television, I'll do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-don-t-think-people-come-to-television-for-spectacle-and-i-don-t/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I went to Jersey City State College to please a family member. I wasn't prepared for school. To say I failed out is putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-went-to-jersey-city-state-college-to-please-a-family-member-i-wasn/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I think many times in relationships as it escalates to marriage, what it takes to breed a marriage, is the same thing that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-think-many-times-in-relationships-as-it-escalates-to-marriage-what/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [He's looking for the president's kidnapped daughter; everybody he calls on to help him is busy, but lo and behold, you look across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/he-s-looking-for-the-president-s-kidnapped-daughter-everybody-he/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [Denzel's quality, I think, is his faith. You have all the action in your head and you have to believe in it and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/denzel-s-quality-i-think-is-his-faith-you-have-all-the-action-in-your/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I tried to copy some of his mannerisms at first but it didn't work. And then I just let the spirit of the character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-tried-to-copy-some-of-his-mannerisms-at-first-but-it-didn-t-work/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [It's a story about victory that will touch the lives of everyone who watches it. It's powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/it-s-a-story-about-victory-that-will-touch-the-lives-of-everyone-who/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [Oh, my God! My wife and I, boy, we got down that night. On a personal note!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/oh-my-god-my-wife-and-i-boy-we-got-down-that-night-on-a-personal-note/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I think it's time to do clean-up for a generation. I believe this is one of the movies that hits home for all colors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-think-it-s-time-to-do-clean-up-for-a-generation-i-believe-this-is/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) > [I was watching TV at age 9 or 10, and my mom said that I came from the front room and I told her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/i-was-watching-tv-at-age-9-or-10-and-my-mom-said-that-i-came-from-the/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) [Explore all 32 Derek Luke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derek Luke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-rap-in-the-mirror-walk-down-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-rap-in-the-mirror-walk-down-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/derek-luke-19745_audience_hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-ra_2320949.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hip-hop was my first audience - I would rap in the mirror, walk down the street and listen to my Walkman.” — Derek Luke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derek Luke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hip-hop was my first audience -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-rap-in-the-mirror-walk-down-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/hip-hop-was-my-first-audience-i-would-rap-in-the-mirror-walk-down-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```