You should be able to be influenced by art no matter where it comes from. Ali Shaheed Muhammad More Quotes by Ali Shaheed Muhammad More Quotes From Ali Shaheed Muhammad I believe in a 'give us this day our daily bread' sort of thing. And what I draw from that is, I try not to stock my refrigerator for groceries for the week, cause I might not live to see the full week. Ali Shaheed Muhammad live daily day believe My mom used to be concerned 'cause I would never go outside. And when I'd go outside, I'd have friends, but I just was always in the house listening to music, practicing DJing all the time. Then my uncle got a keyboard, drum machine, so I'd just be in the house at 12, 13, just, like, messing up his presets. And my mom was like, 'My son is strange.' Ali Shaheed Muhammad music mom time son If you allow yourself to be closed, especially to a younger generation, then that's death. That's instant death. Ali Shaheed Muhammad generation yourself you death When it comes to music, something I'm passionate about, and knowing the reach and the power and how it transforms, it saves lives. Music does. Ali Shaheed Muhammad reach something music power I really care about what I put out, and probably more than the fans care. At times, I think I over-care. But I just know that the body of work has such a high standard that it's kind of like, in my own head, I need to at least match it if not get over that, so that's the challenge. Ali Shaheed Muhammad challenge my-own care work But I could not imagine having a child and the child not having a relationship with music that opens up their mind and their imagination and teaches them things. Ali Shaheed Muhammad child music imagination relationship Raphael Saadiq said to me, quite often, that Chuck D was his history teacher. And so he got a lot from the music, things that he wasn't getting maybe in school. And I feel the same way with regards to Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder. Ali Shaheed Muhammad me music teacher history Our records are commodities. We're looking to make a sale. The radio stations are looking to get the advertising dollars. The end. Ali Shaheed Muhammad looking end advertising radio I think at some point there may be artists who will get fed up, and they deliberately want to use their art as a means to rock the waves a little bit. And instead of doing the status quo, they'll deliberately go out to really make a change. I think Kendrick Lamar is an example of that. Ali Shaheed Muhammad waves think change art I'm a believer in the nap. I don't care what it is. 15 minutes. Five hours. If you know someone's going to come back and come to work. Ali Shaheed Muhammad someone you care work I've never been good at getting on people's nerves, and from the little quotes I read, it's like, 'You're not doing enough in your life if you're not making someone angry.' And I'm like, 'Man. But my life - I seem to help people get somewhere, so am I not? Should I be more aggressive?' That's the way my inside voice sounds. Ali Shaheed Muhammad good you man life Nothing new is on the earth right now. Technology, the things that we're discovering, it's been sitting here just waiting for someone to brush it off and go, 'Oh, let me read that. Let me see how I can use this information.' And it doesn't matter if it's from a tech perspective or a philosophical perspective. Ali Shaheed Muhammad me perspective technology waiting Hip-hop has had this history where the predecessor just is so harsh and not nice to the next coming generation that it creates this separation and this gap. Ali Shaheed Muhammad hip-hop generation nice history Music is an important thing of energy. And there are a lot of wonderful aspects that come with it and vibrations, the physical vibrations, the movement of notes through an instrument and creating a wave that resonates into our spirit. Ali Shaheed Muhammad music important energy spirit I grew up around electronic instruments. To me, the turntable is an electronic device. At the same time, I had access to drum machines and keyboards through my uncle; then track recorders into computers. At an early age, I was messing with computers more than most hip-hop musicians. Ali Shaheed Muhammad computers me age time I keep saying if I ever get a good amount of quiet time that I want to learn to play cello. It's a very warm instrument. The tone of the cello and the movement - I don't know what is; I love it so much. Ali Shaheed Muhammad saying good time love Anything in this life that goes against love, we all should fight it. Ali Shaheed Muhammad anything fight love life Kanye West, I love you. You might not have known, but I have said in other interviews that you're my hero. Ali Shaheed Muhammad you i-love-you hero love