This was totally influenced by me and the direction that I am writing about and the stuff that I am writing about. There is just no way that you can be as intense as what I have been through in my life over a drum beat machine, sample, or loop; it's just not going to happen.

It wasn't until '94 when I tried to commit suicide that I realized that it wasn't about the money.

Shows have been sold out. It's overwhelming, you know. I had no idea what to expect with this new sound and everything and just to see so many people just come out and embrace it, it's overwhelming.

I used the music kind of as therapy, and it's just amazing that I feel so free after doing that. I feel like I had it trapped inside of me and now I feel free. So it's been a very good therapy session for me as well.

Honestly, a lot of people thought that I was on top of the world selling so many millions of records, and that this is the life that everybody would want, but I never got to enjoy any of my success.

I didn't end up going bankrupt... I made some great investments and I held on to my money, which also enables me to have the freedom to do what I want now. But it's not about finances. No matter what, it's about keeping it real.

I got caught up on drugs for a few years, I'm off it, I'm very happy, got two kids and a family and everything. And like I said I'm making the underground music, and keeping it real.

I use the music to vent, and a lot of the stuff that I am writing about or was writing about contained a lot of anger and anxiety, stress and depression, so that's how the album came out so dark.

I just kept it real and had the freedom to do what I want. It's not designed for any age group. It's not made for radio. There are no edits. The whole album contains explicit lyrics but that's because you need it.

This was totally influenced by me and the direction that I am writing about and the stuff that I am writing about. There is just no way that you can be as intense as what I have been through in my life over a drum beat machine, sample, or loop; it's just not going to happen.

A lot of people don't remember anything since 'Ice Ice Baby,' but I've got 3 records out since then and they're all successes - but not commercially.

A lot of people think I was an overnight success, but I was an opening act for three or four years, and then I signed my contract with EMI. Then it kind of blew up overnight.

Even in a bad market, location, location, location is a way to still buy and sell property.

For three years, between 16 and 19, I was the opening-act-for-the-opening-act-for-the-opening-act, you know? And then I was on tour with Ice-T, Stetsasonic, EPMD, Sir Mix-a-Lot - legends - and went on to sell 160 million records. It still baffles me.

I bring people on stage with me. It's a good time, and people love to join in on the party. Show me a smile, and I'll show you one back.

I didn't want the public in my personal life at all - I thought that people might perceive me as too normal, and I'd lose that larger-than-life rock star persona. You've got to protect that!

I do a lot of TV stuff, but I also turn a lot down - it's got to be an adventure.

I do freestyle jumping. Been doing since I was eight years old and can't quit. I'm addicted. I've broken many bones, but I ride with confidence. It's my thing - there's no high on earth like it. It's my hobby and I really enjoy it.

I don't harp on what I could change about the past, because I can't go back and change it. But definitely a lot of things I would change.

I don't have any reason to hate anybody; I believe in good karma and spreading good energy.

I had a pretty modest upbringing; it was no pleasure cruise. I don't think I would be as happy today if I hadn't been through that. It was tough; I made some bad choices myself.

I have a very broad demographic, from the 8-year-old who knows every word to 'Ice Ice Baby' and the college kid who grew up on 'Ninja Rap' to the soccer mom and grandparent.

I have been known to hang out and party back in the day. I had a weekend that lasted a few years.

I know this will blow your mind, but most people would probably never ever get it, but I listen to classical music when nobody else is around. It calms me down and I can get into this, like, deep thinking mode, you know, because there's really no lyrics to it, so you're not following something that - that you're listening to a story.

I like Cleveland. I like the Cavaliers. Nothing wrong with Cleveland. I have lots of friends there.

I like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Common. But I like the underground stuff like Young Jeezy, Black Rob and Shine. I also love heavy metal like Slipknot and Pantera, It's very intense stuff.

I live off a motto that says, 'yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery'. I have goals and agendas. Where ever I'll be tomorrow, that's where I'll be.

I meet everybody. If somebody invites me to their house and they got a drum set close, I'm going to play, man. Let's jam. I don't care. Get in where you fit in and enjoy the experience.

I own a mortgage company and a real estate company funded by the music. Florida is a kinda gold mine.

I turn my negatives into my positives because one of my mottos is, 'Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery,' meaning that you can't go back and change anything in the past.

I turned a lot of people in white America - and not just white America, but middle-class America - into hip-hoppers, you know?

I was born in Dallas, Texas, but I was raised in south Florida. 'Ice Ice Baby' is about that area.

I will not say anything about my father. Period. I don't have a dad.

I'm a Christian, but I don't believe in religion or anything like that.

I'm a random guy. I shake a hand and make a friend. I don't do egotistical things.

I've been playing concerts for many years, and it's still as exciting as it was the first time. I hope that shows when I'm performing.

I've never met anybody in this world like me.

If you look at the statistics, people spend most of their time in the kitchen. Aside from the backyard, it's one of my favorite places to renovate.

It took me a while and a lot of hard times to figure out my purpose, I am so happy with my life. I just want to help make other people happy, too.

Learn from my mistakes and you don't have to make them yourself.

Listen, if you don't talk big game, you never get anywhere. If you don't think big, you don't get big. Some people call it egotistical, some people call it high hopes, some people call it confidence. It's all in how you want to dissect it.

More than half of all the hip hop record sales are white people, and I think that might be a result of my record helping people to accept hip hop.

My breakdancing crew used to go to the mall and squat a piece of cardboard there; we had our jam box, and I'd spin on my head and make about forty bucks a day, which was pretty good back then. I was only 14 years old, so I would chase the girls around the mall and eat some pizza and have some change left over.

My main thing is music; it's what I do.

My mom raised me to be clean, so it's in my nature. I have two little girls, and I'm married, but we've got a nanny and a maid.

Negativity spreads faster than any Justin Bieber song.

One thing I didn't understand in life was that I had $100,000,000 in the bank and I couldn't buy happiness. I had everything: mansions, yachts, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, but I was depressed. I didn't know where I fitted in. But then I found family and friends and I learned the value of life.

Rap is from the streets and I'm from the streets. That's why a lot of people accept me.

Show me a smile, and I'll show you one back.