Jay-Z Quotes - Page 8

My brands are an extension of me. They're close to me. It's not like running GM, where there's no emotional attachment.

I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars...

Whoever said that artists shouldn't pay attention to their business was probably someone w/their hand in some artist's pocket.

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

The Nets' a stone throw from where I used to throw bricks ...So it's only right I'm still tossing 'round Knicks.

Ex-D-boy, used to park my Beamer Now look at me, I can park in my own arena

I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.

Cough up a lung where I'm from marcy son, aint nothin nice

When people say stuff like, "Oh, that's soft rock. I don't listen to that," I find that elitist. It's music-racist.

Electing a black man named Barack Obama President in the same country that elected George W. Bush - twice! - is as far-fetched as a hustler from Marcy performing at that President's inauguration. But it happened.

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 me the opportunity to manage the companies I have contributed to my whole career. I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artist community.

I gave you prophecy on my first joint, and y'all lamed out Didn't really appreciate it, 'til the second one came out

If skills sold truth be told I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli Truthfully I want to rhyme like Common Sense (But I did five Mil) I ain't been rhyming like Common since.

The reason I've been groundedand able to make albums, is because I've allowed my friends to come with me and voice an opinion. That's who keeps you grounded, the people who have known you longest.

I love that because that's what I'm supposed to be doing - whether it's accepted b everybody or not. I'm supposed to be pushing that envelope and trying new things. And people are supposed to say, Hov, you might have went too far.

I noticed that difference early on, like if you were successful in rock 'n' roll, that was a really bad thing, you almost had to hide it. You had these guys selling 200 million records with dirty T-shirts on. I was like, 'Come on, man. Come on. We know you're successful.' 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 big enough, people are drawn to you.

I think the consumption of music is at an all-time high. But I think the ways that record companies are trying to monetize it is just all over the place. At the end of the day, music is in the clouds. Before, you could hold it, look at it, turn it around. Now, it's just in the air.