Erik Parker Quotations

He didn't come across as a thug or as someone looking for trouble. He was a nice, articulate and charming guy. ... Local scenes in rap can be really fragmented but this may cause people to band together.

A lot of hip-hop fans resented them for being the token hip-hop group that was representing hip-hop culture to the mainstream. It wasn't their fault; they're just an accessible, easy-going group that started making really good pop music and was celebrated by everybody after they added Fergie. But there was a lot of resentment and hate.

I don't see the tributes stopping. It's like with Marvin Gaye. People keep bringing him back, to keep him alive.

He's made a habit of rapping on his artists' records in the hopes that this will jump-start their careers - and it does draw immediate attention - but that's just a shortcut. He'll need to do real artist development to ensure these guys have actual long-lasting careers.

Older generations can sometimes look down on today's hip hop but I refuse that mindset. I remember how hurt I was when older people told me that Run-D.M.C. was jungle music or that it was not music at all. Or that LL Cool J was not art.

There are songs and artists now who are trying to do the same thing: be honest to their experiences.

Every piece of music is not for everybody.

Hip hop has evolved, thankfully. Kids are making music that is important to their lives and outlooks.

Hip hop is still strong. As an art form, music helps people express themselves, find meaning in their own lives and connect with their tribes.

All the songs are pieces to the puzzle. They each represent something different. So it's really difficult to say one song represents the album.

The things Nas' Illmatic was saying were sometimes hard realities but it was done on such a high level, I felt I could point to him as a representative. Someone who put my struggle and my worldview into poetry.

If you see yourself reflected in art, you feel validated.

Nas' Illmatic blew my mind when I first heard it. The poetry was done on such a high level that in a way, it validated our existence, our culture. He used the language of the street at the time and made it art. Art tends to be validating.

We need to do stuff we've always done, even though you might not like it.