88 Quotes by Rakim

Being a new artist, I was trying to make a good album and hope that people like Kool Moe Dee and Melle Mel and some of the firstborns appreciated it. I was being influenced by them brothers there. That's where I got my start and my first listen.

I was always a laid-back, subdued person, and I just try to let that speak through my music.

As I grew up, a lot of the music was made to uplift the spirit.

I love Jay-Z, I love Kanye, and I praise the way he's been able to bring more business out of the jungle.

Sometimes you can't forgive, but you try to forget.

You know, I got kids. I got sons, and I try to tell them, 'Look, man, when you in the car and you get pulled over, hands on the steering wheel. 'Yes, sir. No sir.' Your job is to either wind up in jail, so I can come get you, or be able to pull off. That's your job.'

The laws are gonna have to change. And it's 2016. We can't keep using all the laws that was made back in the 1700s. We're gonna have to understand that times have changed.

When you're dealing with a bunch of different producers, you gotta make sure the chemistry fits.

You can't have 12 records on your album and none of them sound alike. You gotta kind of have something to make them say, 'That sounds like Rakim.'