Quotes

Fight the power!

As a musicologist, and I consider myself one, there was always a great deal of respect for Elvis (Elvis Presley'), especially during his Sun sessions. As a black people, we all knew that. My whole thing was the one-sidedness like Elvis' icon status in America made it like nobody else counted. My heroes came from someone else. My heroes came before him. My heroes were probably his heroes. As far as Elvis being "The King", I couldn't buy that.

Eminem is the new (Elvis Presley') because, number one, he has the respect for black music that Elvis had. I think he's courteous and sympathetic to black music and, unfortunately, he's more sympathetic to black music than many black artists themselves.

Rap is black America's TV station.

[on getting permission to enter Canada] We've had heavy security problems at the border since the 1990s. It's the roughest border on the planet. To me it resembles the Berlin Wall. I experienced having to be searched by cops and dogs coming through western Germany to go back to Berlin, and I'm here to tell you that that seemed more humane.

On Gil Scott Heron in 2010: You can go into Ginsberg and the Beat poets and Dylan, but Gil Sott-Heron is the manifestation of the modern world. He and the Last Poets set the stage for everyone else.