Jay-Z

Jay-Z: (On his book Decoded and how some rappers should be respected as poets) Some of the things that Biggie wrote,... ...if you take those lyrics and pull them away from the music and put them up on the wall somewhere and someone had to look at them they would say, 'This is genius…this is genius work.

Jay-Z: I'd rather die enormous than live dormant.

Jay-Z: I think relationships are broken up because of the media.

Jay-Z: I'm far from being god, but I work god damn hard.

Jay-Z: No matter where you go, you are what you are playa.

Jay-Z: The average rap life is two or three albums. You're lucky to get to your second album in rap.

Jay-Z: I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman because when I was trying to get a record deal, it was so hard to get a record deal on my own that it was either give up or create my own company.

Jay-Z: He who does not feel me is not real to me, therefore he does not exist. So, poof... vamoose, son of a bi***.

Jay-Z: Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way than through hip-hop.

Jay-Z: I carry my nephews like my sons, always have, and they have filled that void for me.

Jay-Z: I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Reid and Universal Music Group have given me the opportunity to manage the companies I have contributed to my whole career. I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artist community.

Jay-Z: I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam's fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era.

Jay-Z: (with Beyoncé standing next to him) This woman beside me is my best friend. I love her so much and I will marry her very soon.

Jay-Z: (about his father, Adnes Reeves) He wasn't around for me from the age of 12. At that time, I just thought about myself and how him not being there affected me. Since then, I discovered he was going through a lot himself. It was a real learning curve.

Jay-Z: (On writing about his life story) It's harder than I expected. It's not something you can rush.

Jay-Z: (On New Orleans) This is our community. When I turn on CNN, I see a lot of black people on the streets. I know it's other people too, but those projects have been hit hard.

Jay-Z: They say a midget standing on a giant's shoulders can see much further than the giant. So I got the whole rap world on my shoulders, they trying to see further than I am.