Quotessence
Home / Topics / Hip Hop Quotes

Hip Hop Quotes

Browse 2039 quotes about Hip Hop.

Related topics

RapPeopleThinkingIfsKnowsCausesRapperCultureWayWorldArtistWantRocksTryingMenBlackStillsKidsFeelsNeedsDifferentGivingSongI CanKindLooksRealSoulJazzPopsFirstsYearsWhiteWholeBigsRhymeBeatsHardStreetsUsedWellsGirlRecordsSaidSoundGamesHip Hop MusicMeanLongMusic IsHip Hop ArtistEmsListeningStyleYoungAlbumsBoysGrewHas BeensMindWritingArtFansHateAssGrew UpHeardLastsNamesShowsStuffDreamFormMadeWantedDoneLittlesBrotherShouldGenreLife IsMovingPlayRadioSpeakAbleGenerationsGuyLinesAmericaCommunityCrazyFacesMightNightSchoolSometimesBelieveCountryHomemore

Hip Hop Quotes

“The job of feets is walking, but their hobby is dancing.”

InspirationalWritingPhilosophyWisdomMotivationalMovingQuotesFunMusicStepsKnowledgeFeetStyleSpeechDancingDanceShoesHip HopWittyWitMovieStoryLeisureRhetoricJumpingCreative WritingSlogansAmit KalantriAmit Kalantri QuotesPublic SpeakingProverbsRecreationSocial NetworkingBloggingCharactersPartnerAmit Kalantri WriterAdageNovel WritingBook WritingChoreographyEssayDance QuotesScriptAdvertisementBlogDiscoMovie DialogueScript WritingCatchphrasesAlliterationsTag LinesScriptwritingCatch LinesSpeechwritingSalsaDance ClassPunchlineStepHobbySalsa DanceChoreographerDance StudioClubDance AcademyFloorStreet DanceDjFootNight LifeAvocationB BoyingDance RoutineDancing ShoesFeets
Book:Wealth of Words
Create image

“My inspiration for writing music is like Don McLean did when he did "American Pie" or "Vincent". Lorraine Hansberry with "A Raisin in the Sun". Like Shakespeare when he does his thing, like deep stories, raw human needs. I'm trying to think of a good analogy. It's like, you've got the Vietnam War, and because you had reporters showing us pictures of the war at home, that's what made the war end, or that shit would have lasted longer. If no one knew what was going on we would have thought they were just dying valiantly in some beautiful way. But because we saw the horror, that's what made us stop the war. So I thought, that's what I'm going to do as an artist, as a rapper. I'm gonna show the most graphic details of what I see in my community and hopefully they'll stop it quick. I've seen all of that-- the crack babies, what we had to go through, losing everything, being poor, and getting beat down. All of that. Being the person I am, I said no no no no. I'm changing this.”

BlackRaceMusicPovertyViolenceHip HopRapRace RelationsTupac2pacAfrican America
Book:Tupac: Resurrection 1971-1996
Create image

“A big reason for their hesitancy to become recording artists was that during their time at WBAU the Spectrum camp has been observing the harsh realities of the developing rap game. Inflated egos meant that they had to treat the upcoming acts who played at their gigs like kings. But after the shows the Spectrum crew would then drive those acts back to the same impoverished neighbourhoods that they'd always lived in. Driving supposed rap stars back to the projects made an impression. 'None of them were really getting paid off records so I was like, "Damn",' is how Chuck assessed the situation.”

PovertyHip HopRap1983Public Enemy
Book:Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin'
Create image

“When hip-hop was born she had no commercial home, and was an invention of beautiful creativity. Born from a beautiful struggle, today she is mostly a 'ratchet' bitch spitting nonsense from her pimp's mansion.”

BeautifulCultureBornBeautyMusicStruggleSacrificePositiveEvolutionBirthNegativeHip HopRapGhettoLyricsPimpCommercialSell OutRatchet
Book:From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph over Death and Conscious Encounters With the Divine Presence
Create image

“I want to marry his smile, and if his smile is already married to someone else, then I want to marry his eyebrows and eyes. They're remarkable. Nobody's ever made better use of his or her eyes or eyebrows as a rapper than Kurtis Blow.”

SmileHip HopRapEyebrowsKurtis Blow
Book:The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed
Create image

“I believe...that to be very poor and very beautiful is most probably a moral failure more than an artistic success. Shakespeare would have done well in any generation because he would have refused to die in a corner; he would have taken the false gods and made them over; he would have taken the current formulae and forced them into something lesser men thought them incapable of. Alive today he would undoubtedly have written and directed motion pictures, plays, and God knows what. Instead of saying, "This medium is not good," he would have used it and made it good. If some people called some his work cheap (which some of it was), he wouldn't have cared a rap, because he would know that without some vulgarity there is no complete man. He would have hated refinement, as such, because it is always a withdrawal, and he was too tough to shrink from anything.”

ArtCourageGreatnessIntegrityBraveryInnovationHip HopGreat ArtPornographyShakespeareRefinementVulgarityModern ArtCourage To Be OneselfThe TruthFresh IdeasSasha GreyStruggling ArtistStruggling WriterLars Von TrierBeautiful LosersPorn As ArtSex In Cinema
Book:Raymond Chandler Speaking
Create image

“Whether we consider hip-hop as an evolved manifestation of the Harlem Renaissance or something completely new under the sun, it clearly has moved beyond the stage of just entertaining lives to that of informing and empowering lives.”

SocietyInformationEmpowermentHip HopEntertainmentMulticulturalismEntertainment IndustryInformation AgeBlack History MonthCreative ArtistsCreative GeniusHarlem RenaissanceCreativesThe SunHip Hop PhilosophyHistorical PerspectiveNational History DayManifestationsCultural ArtsHarlem Renaissance HistoriansContemporary CultureCultural MovementsHip Hop StyleAfrican American Music MonthBlack Music MonthContemporary HistoryCulture Of Hip HopHarlem Renaissance CentennialHip HoppersHistorical Influences
Book:Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry
Create image

“You may think of myths as worlds of light sabers, rings of power, and enchanted spells. Hip-Hop is also a mythical place. A place free from strangling bonds of racism, sexism and bigotry. A place where the only currency is your skills with a mic, a turntable, or a drum machine. Hip-Hop is filled with faraway lands populated by dragons, wizards and knights - places like Marcy Projects, 5th Ward, Compton, Shaolin and Strong Island. Our knights are MC's, B-Boys, B-Girls, DJs, producers and graf artists.”

ArtMusicHip Hop
Book:Ten Years Fresh: The Story Of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Create image

“Rock and roll is not a guitar, it’s not long hair—that’s not rock and roll. It ain’t about an instrument, or this or that. The blues is the start of it all,” Ice Cube said. “You add some rhythm to that blues and you have all kind of people that’s doing rock and roll. And that develops into hip-hop. All of it is a spirit—the spirit of coming outside of the box. If you don’t see how N.W.A is rock and roll, then you really don’t get what it’s all about.”

MusicHip HopRock And Roll
Book:Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap
Create image

“The unpolished rawness and uncompromising energy of hip-hop have their roots in slavery. Just like some of the sweetest forms of expression the human race has ever invented, like jazz and blues. They were born out of misery but were so infectiously captivating and full of such bold emotions that they permeated everything else -- contemporary music, fashion, art, the way people talk, the way people walk, the way people are.”

RaceMusicSlaveryJazzHip HopBlack HistoryBluesBlack Culture
Book:A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir
Create image

“This guy! I plead the fifth. This guy is nuts.” - Eminem “Dope questions, man. Very insightful, very thoughtful.” - Guru (Gang Starr) “You like a Psychiatrist or some shit? This shit is just coming out but go ahead.” - Mary J. Blige “Definitely a real interview! Digging deep up in there, man. Not afraid to ask questions!” - K-Ci Hailey (Jodeci) “The Wizard asked me for a copy of your magazine.” - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) “You didn’t wear your glasses and you haven’t carried your hearing aid. What else is wrong with you?” - Bushwick Bill “Peace and blessing, Brother Harris. Thank you for inspiring my words. Keep ‘yo balance.” - Erykah Badu “Can I see that pen?” - Bobby Brown “What else do you want to know? Talk to me.” - Aaliyah”

Hip HopArtistsRuthlessMusic BusinessReggaeRecord LabelsRap MusicBeyonceProducerHip Hop PhilosophyEminemDr DreIce CubeDestiny ChildGolden Age Of Hip HopNew York Hip Hop
Author:Harris Rosen
Create image

“Hopeful dreams - even where crack kings’ and dope fiends feast. Dust from the ash and rubble; they shine like bright stars once the mic is gripped and the bars are spit.”

DreamsEvolutionHip HopRapHopefulOvercoming ObstaclesTalents And GiftsHumble BeginningsRappersRap Culture
Book:From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph over Death and Conscious Encounters With the Divine Presence
Create image

“We listen to rap lyrics, but few study the history. One of the most significant contributions of hip hop. It offers a profound social commentary on the black experience. This is an aspect of the music that is overlooked because most people choose to pay more attention to “the hook” (the catchy repetitive phrase) than the complete body of work. In doing so, the listener misses the message: the essence of the music, the breakdown of the bars. That’s tantamount to someone who is able to quote scripture, but has never read the bible.”

Hip HopRap MusicHip Hop Philosophy
Book:The Other 99 T.Y.M.E.S: Train Your Mind to Enjoy Serenity
Create image

“The misconception is that the genre is a breeding ground for negativity; that it is the birthplace of violence and misogynistic attitudes, and the genesis of every kind of unfavorable stereotype imaginable. When, in fact, if looked at through the lens of neutrality and open-mindedness, the virtues of hip hop far outweigh the negative stigma attached to it.”

Hip HopRapHip Hop Philosophy
Book:The Other 99 T.Y.M.E.S: Train Your Mind to Enjoy Serenity
Create image

“According to a study conducted by the Oxford African American Studies Center, hip hop is part of and speaks to a long line of black American and African traditions. Many observers also make a connection between rap and West African griot tradition, the art of wandering storytellers known for their knowledge of local settings and their superior vocal skills.”

Hip HopRapHip Hop Philosophy
Book:The Other 99 T.Y.M.E.S: Train Your Mind to Enjoy Serenity
Create image

“Since hip hop emerged from the South Bronx in the 1970s, it has become an international, multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. It has grown to encompass more than just rap music. Hip hop has created a culture that incorporates ethnicity, art, politics, fashion, technology and urban life.” This debunks the widely accepted argument that the genre is inherently divisive. With so many factors converging to create such an intricate, informative and multi-faceted genre, whose history and impact have bridged barriers between artist and society, it is not too complicated an endeavor to understand that its relevance repudiates its notorious reputation.”

Hip HopRapHip Hop Philosophy
Book:The Other 99 T.Y.M.E.S: Train Your Mind to Enjoy Serenity
Create image

“As millions use social media as a primary source of information, the risk of falling victim to being misinformed is high. Readers who quickly scan newsfeeds tend to only read (and share information about) a headline: focusing on “the hook.” Whether due to complacency or lack of time, few explore the content. This allows bogus media outlets to descend on the unsuspecting (and unprepared) seekers of instant information, creating false stories with dazzling one-liners, secure in the knowledge that there will be little effort to pursue confirmation or research an entire story.”

Hip HopRap MusicHip Hop Philosophy
Book:The Other 99 T.Y.M.E.S: Train Your Mind to Enjoy Serenity
Create image

“A fast note about Ice-T's autobiography: There's a section where he tells a story about hanging out with Flavor Flav that involves going to Red Lobster in a Ferrari. I suspect the phrase "going to Red Lobster in a Ferrari" is the most accurate description of Flavor Flav anyone will ever come up with.”

FunnyHip HopRapDescriptiveFerrariFlavor FavIce TRed Lobster
Book:The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed
Create image