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I Can't Control What People Think. I'm Not Trying To Manipulate People's Thoughts Or Sentiments. I Write All The Time. You Have To Experience Life, Make Observations, And Ask Questions. It's Machine-like How Things Are Run Now In Hip-hop, And My Ambitions Are Different.

-Mos Def

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I Can't Control What

Mos Def

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I Can't Control What People Think. I'm Not Trying To Manipulate People's Thoughts Or Sentiments. I Write All The Time. You Have To Experience Life, Make Observations, And Ask Questions. It's Machine-like How Things Are Run Now In Hip-hop, And My Ambitions Are Different.

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I Don't Mind Being Black. I'm Black Out Loud. It's More Than The People That They Are, It's The Condition That They Represent.

With Guys I Revere, Like Marcus Garvey Or Malcolm X, Their Look Is Less About Style Than Purpose And The Expression Of Beauty. It Wasn't Just About Being Noticed, You Know?

You Have To Be An Extremist To Believe That You're Gonna Be The President Of The United States And Your Name Is Barack Hussein Obama! And He's Using Extreme Methods, But His Application Is Very Smooth. Michelle Obama Is Extreme, Her Presence Is Extreme. And It's An Extreme Good. Extreme Is Not Negative.

Record Companies Are Not Necessarily Interested In You Realizing Your Artistic Dream. The Bottom Line Is That They Got To Sell Records.

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I'm An Independent Thinker. And I'm Not The Poster Child For Any Movement. I'm Trying To Support Whatever's Right No Matter Where It Is.

To Me, The Job Of The Artist Is To Provide A Useful And Intelligent Vocabulary For The World To Be Able To Articulate Feelings They Experience Everyday, And Otherwise Wouldn't Have The Means To Express In A Meaningful And Useful Way.

Michael Jordan On The Court Is A Completely Different Guy. If The Play Requires Him To Leap Out All The Way And Grab The Ball, That's What He'll Do. He May Be A Completely Shy, Withdrawn Sort Of Person [off The Court].

I Give A Damn If Any Fan Recalls My Legacy, I'm Trying To Live Life In The Sight Of God's Memory.

I'm A Passionate Person. I'm A Lot Of Things, Like Most People Are. Most People Are Dynamic. The Focus Is Not On Me Though, I'm A Screen. The Aim Is To Always Keep Myself In The Position Where The Screen Is Clear.

And Remember Don't High Post When You're Far From Home, And High Posting When You're All Alone.

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Man, I Smashed Her Like An Idaho Potato

I Want To Be Necessary And Do Good Works. I Ain't Here To Waste Nobody's Time, Because I Don't Want You To Waste Mine.

I'm Just An Artist And I'm Doin' What I Like To Do.

Why Did One Straw Break The Camel's Back? Here's The Secret: The Million Other Straws Underneath It.

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Beef Is Not What Jay Said To Nas; Beef Is When The Working Folks Can't Find Jobs.

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All The Things That Are Worth Doing, Take Time.

When People Say I Don't See You Enough, Well Just Because You Don't See Me Don't Mean I Don't Exist Or Just 'cause You Haven't Heard Me Don't Mean I Haven't Been Making Noise. But If I Keep Making Noise, You'll Pick Up.

I'm Trying To Get Low. People's Personalities Can Get In The Way Of Their Own Work.

I'm Doing Exactly What I Was Supposed To Do. Yeah. I Didn't Exactly Choose This. My Own Life, If It Were Up To Me, Would Be Very, Very Quiet. I'd Be Like A Shopkeeper, A Book Collector, Or Something Like That. I'm Not Like This. Myself As A Performer And An Artist Is Totally Different From Who I Am.

You Want To Know How To Rhyme, Then Learn How To Add. It's Mathematics.

I Don't Care About What Brand You Are, I'm Concerned What Type Of Man You Are, What Your Principles And Standards Are.

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There Was A Time When Hip-hop Was Its Own Musical Principle, Aside From Sampling. Like The Entire Wild Style Break Is Instrumental. Kurtis Blow's Earliest Stuff Was Studio Musicians Playing. Whodini Had A Real Clear Sound, Things Like "five Minutes Of Funk," Stuff That You Could Write Really Beautiful, Lush String And Horn Arrangements Around, Stuff That Was Just Music.

The Test In Life Nowadays Is Just Trying To Keep Yourself Charged Up With Enough Good Feeling. It's Like, "ok What Am I Going To Do To Feel Really Good Today?" Not Like, Some Chick Or A Drink.

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We Blasted Holes In The Night Until She Bled Sunshine

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Reckless Capitalism Kills Black People.

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I Can't Control What People Think. I'm Not Trying To Manipulate People's Thoughts Or Sentiments. I Write All The Time. You Have To Experience Life, Make Observations, And Ask Questions. It's Machine-like How Things Are Run Now In Hip-hop, And My Ambitions Are Different.

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I Seen Her On The Ave, Spotted Her More Than Once. Ass So Fat That You Could See It From The Front.

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My Presence Speaks Volumes Before I Say A Word.

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I'm Retiring The Mos Def Name After 2011. I'm Actually Doing It.

Funny Retirement

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I Don't Have Advice For People On How To Dress. People Should Dress Based On What They Find Beautiful. My Best Advice: Keep Your Clothes Clean.

I Know What It Feels Like To Have The Door Slammed Firmly In My Face, So I'm Cool With That.

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I Like To Read The 'financial Times' When I'm Traveling. 'economist.' 'ad Busters.'

Focused. I'm A Hustler. And My Hustle Is Trying To Figure Out The Best Ways To Do What I Like Without Having To Do Much Else.

I Can't Take It Y'all I Can Feel The City Breathin Chest Heavin, Against The Flesh Of The Evening Sigh Before We Die Like The Last Train Leaving

I Don't Hate Nobody. I Hate Certain Conditions That Are Inflicted Upon The People - And They're Helpless With It.

I Feel Like Being Into The Beat Of Your Own Drum Has Become Too Prominent In The Culture.

I'm Not Shy About Heated Debate Or Passionate Discourse, But When People Get Crazy Or Rude, That's A Buzz Kill. There's Got To Be A Better Code Of Conduct, Some Basic Etiquette.

Everything's Got Space Between It, The Planets, Trees, Your Eyes. Your Eyes Get Too Close Together, It's A Whole Different World. You Can Lose Perspective.

Make Today's Solid Ground Out Of Yesterday's Quicksand.

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