God will take you through hell, just to get you to heaven.

If you don't respect nothin' else, you will respect this hustle.

Fear aint in the heart of me, i learned just do it, you get courage from your fears right after you go through it.

Adversity builds character and character takes you places money can't.

Some of us were born to hate and some of us were born to be great.

I'm by no means a perfect human being. I experience more than half of my life perpetuating darkness. That was because I was dropped in a place of darkness and expected to find a way out.

Never mind what haters say, ignore them 'til they fade away.

Even when I lose faith in myself there is something in me that speaks through and says I am not finished yet.

Refuse to give up, your mistakes don't define you. They don't dictate where you're headed, they remind you.

The one thing we all have in common is that we're human. Why pay more attention to the things that make us different over the things that bring us together?

Some of y'all are not where you want to be in life, yet you party every weekend. What is it that you’re celebrating?

Stop lookin' at what you ain't got, and start being thankful for what you do got.

Life can change your directions, even when you ain't planned it. All you can do is handle it, worst thing you can do is panic.

Don't let your emotions overpower your intelligence.

My father passed away in 2002, but yes, we were pretty close. I loved him a lot.

My childhood name that my father gave me, my mother, my grandmother, grandfather, family and friends all call me T.I.P.

Let it be known: I am a free agent. I'm operating as an independent label. I do not have corporate sponsors. I don't have no corporate backing. I don't have no major distribution.

I don't really like the sound of Auto-Tune. I don't like when it's extremely audible, when you're able to detect it easily. I don't like that.

Acting in film, you know, I hear all the time, people say 'You did so much better than I thought you would.' So there's an added element of surprise in film, different than in music.

I can't really see myself as an artist. Now, to step out here and there, do it when I feel like it, that's a possibility. But for me to be a full-fledged, full-time artist in the industry, I don't think so.

I wouldn't mind going somewhere and taking a president position and signing acts and taking the attention off of me and taking what I've learned in my career and applying that to another person's.

I'm an honest, open father.

I've learned that one thing about my life that is certain is trouble.

I love BET and I love the fans.

Man, I'm a conspiracy theorist by nature. You can't experience the federal penal system and not be somewhat skeptical.

Danger is ever-present in life, more for some than others.

I'm an 'in the shower' or 'in the booth' kind of singer. I can sing, but I need either nobody to be able to hear me, or for me to be able to redo it.

You know, when I put out records that may not work or connect with the audience, it's because I'm pushing myself as an artist creatively, because I'm just bored doing what everyone wants me to do.

I, myself, I am not interested in reality television; just me, myself, speaking.

It is a lot of responsibility. But I enjoy being a father. That's one of the best parts of my life. I feel like, man, that's one of the greatest things I've got going on, being a father.

To expect for me to be one-way every time you see me is to expect me to be a one-dimensional man, which I've never been. I've always applauded my efforts to be diverse and multi-faceted.

Everyone has something to sell. The greatest thing you can ever sell is an idea or talent.

I think R. Kelly's range is so vast and broad that in order to stimulate himself creatively as an artist, he has to step so, so far outside the box, or else he feels like he's not challenging himself.

People put me on a box, and I love when people think they know what I am capable of or not capable of. I thrive off of that.

At the end of the day, I got to live my life for my family, for my children, and I'm going to do what's best for them.

It goes without saying that it's hard to attain a certain level of success.

Nobody is gonna love you like you. You're gonna be your best salesman.

I'm going to always rise above the doubt that may exist about me.

I know what it's like to be so distracted by your surroundings and in the moment that it's seemingly impossible to not get caught up in 'em. I know what it's like to feel so much smaller than the activities of your environment that you can't see how not to succumb to 'em. I know what it's like to not be able to focus in class due to real life hunger pangs. I know what it's like to be disruptive just to pass the time and take your mind off what's lacking at home. I know what it's like to be laughed at by your teacher when you tell them what you hope to be in life.

A responsibility to be a role model as a father yes, as a man, as a public figure, yes. That responsibility just leads me to do what I feel is right and to conduct myself with the moral standards, principles, and integrity that were instilled in me by my family.

If I'm not in the mood to deal with you, then I just don't deal with you. I look at it like, me not dealing with you could save me a lot of trouble - me forcing myself to deal with you could bring me a lot of trouble. So I just play it by ear.

I know what it's like to feel hopeless and to feel like you're not good enough just because of where you're from. I know what it's like to be profiled and to be abused by the police. I know what it's like to be racially profiled, treated unjustly and abused by the police just because of how you look.

They’re like,‘If you have an opinion against us, we’re gonna shut you down.' That’s not American. If you’re gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you’re against it you should have the right to be against it in peace.

While there's currently great turmoil, there is even greater opportunity for US to work together to transform our community. Far too many of our children are fatherless, far too many of our mothers are standing in the prison waiting rooms and far too many of our young people feel hopeless.

If you are a true fan, you're a fan for one of two reasons. You either support what I do or you support me as a person. If you support what I do, the quality of work speaks for itself. If you support me as a person, my personal and political views won't alienate you. If you find a way to be turned off, that means you were never a fan in the first place. You were just riding the wave.

I always want to execute and maximize off of potential, and this is a natural progression. Coming up as a youngster, I always wanted to be a rapper, but I knew that if I did everything right as a rapper, I'd end up as an actor, following the models of Ice Cube, Tupac [Shakur] and Will Smith.

I'm happy to be on a winning team. My individual success, that lasts for a short period of time. The success of being a part of the South, of Atlanta, which is now the hot bed of music, that's what's gonna last the longest. The fact that I contributed to planting our flag and moving music to my city, that's what I'm most proud of.

I think my first hit was probably '24 is a Rubberband Man,' which was my second album. My first project, it was very well received in the Southeast region, all throughout the South and parts of the Midwest. It was very well received, but I didn't get national exposure on my second album.

All you can do is handle it, worst thing you can do is panic. Use it to your advantage, avoid insanity, manage to conquer ever obstacle, make impossible possible. Even when winning's illogical, losing is still far from optional.

You can't go through the kinds of things I've gone through, as much as I have, without re-evaluating yourself and making adjustments. And you can't endure these horrendous circumstances without developing a certain level of strength and wisdom.