There was definitely a point in my thirties when I thought, 'Oh, wow, I'm not the youngest person on the set anymore.' But I like it. Working with younger artists is totally exciting.
I think this confusion leads intellectuals and artists themselves to believe that the elite arts and humanities are a kind of higher, exalted form of human endeavor.
Many of us persons of the tinted persuasion care about human rights and artistic freedom too.
I'm probably not as big of a hip-hop fan as people may think. I'm not up on all the artists and know all their stuff.
There are certainly things labels can still provide that indie artists can't. They can pave the way to radio and pay big bucks for promotion.
I glory in the fact that a human being has multiple talents and exercises them all with a degree of integrity and artistic proficiency. That's what I do.
The only obligation any artist can have is to himself. His works means nothing, otherwise. It has no meaning.
It's neither and it's both. That's the perfect kind of art. Labels only detract from the artist's intention.
Usually, the extras have a different mentality. I had the mentality of an artist, because I was a 'ballet-rina.' But most extras are out to make a fast buck for nothing. They're 'atmosphere.'
When people tell me I'm an artist, I say, 'What?' It's impossible for me to take the idea seriously.
I tour whether I have album out or not. I tour more than any other hip-hop artist.
The disintegration of the culture starts with the artist. I'm on a crusade to turn the tide in the arts, to restore dignity to the arts and, by extension, to the culture.
I've never been at odds with the world of contemporary artists. If there is any animosity, it's one-sided.
A lot of hip-hop artists wear fur, and they think it's a status symbol. That doesn't register for me; I just see dead animals.
Today the artist has inherited the combined functions of hermit, pilgrim, prophet, priest, shaman, sorcerer, soothsayer, alchemist.
Is the biographer an artist who can and should exist on equal terms with the dramatist, fiction writer and poet? The short and robust answer is, 'Certainly not.'
Very few artistic partnerships last more than 10 years, and if they do they tend to go down the tubes.
If I have an opportunity to do something safe or something challenging, I'll often choose the latter. Sometimes, the objective is to submerge my viewpoint with the artist.
Many people think voice over artists just read, there's much more to it. Without acting beats, scene study and improving skills, you won't make it.
I started out as an artist, and what I do is verbal paintings. I paint a picture. Hopefully, you'll see the characters and what they're doing and what they're saying.
I could find faults with all my albums because that's just a part of being an artist - it's hard being a human being, isn't it?
