American Quotes

I went to India, lived, and studied.

I was going to get drafted, but I didn't really want to go into the Army.

I was angry about the fact that my father would beat my mother on a daily basis, that my mother would take it in turn and beat on me. I was an abused child. I was mad about all those things, very bitter and very angry.

I wanted to play the Apollo because I didn't think I was going to be on the earth long.

I think rap definitely has its place in the art world. I think it is an art form. But, just like any art form, you can misuse it.

I mean, Rick James was just a man-made image, the image I created. Just trying to live Rick James almost killed me.

I love rap.

I love kids.

I just live one day at a time.

I had always been a free spirit and always gotten what I wanted.

I don't have aluminum foil on my windows anymore.

I believe everything happens under God's plan anyway.

After I saw Kiss on stage, I wanted my show to look like the fourth of July. The persona of Rick James was wild and crazy, sex, drugs and rock and roll.

If anything I consider myself non-violent, I'm from the hippy era, peace, love, groovy.

You can't have rock and roll without drugs, you can't have rock and roll without sex.

I wrote and produced millions and millions of selling records, so my publishing company alone was worth millions of dollars. I didn't have to work anymore in life because when the rappers started sampling... I'm the most sampled artist in history.

It doesn't matter what you do for 45 minutes, it's what you do the last three minutes.

I'm probably one of the must humble people you'll ever meet.

Any dog, you put him in the corner, no matter if they're vicious or not, they're going to bite back.

And winning is a huge thing for me.

I am just happy to be part of the Nike family.

But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I'm upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.

When you have that respect from your teammates, it makes it a lot more comfortable.

Warren Buffet told me once and he said always follow your gut. When you have that gut feeling, you have to go with don't go back on it.

Cleveland fans are awesome.

I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.

But ever since I was a kid, I was always the winner.

You know, my family and friends have never been yes-men: 'Yes, you're doing the right thing, you're always right.' No, they tell me when I'm wrong, and that's why I've been able to stay who I am and stay humble.

I played football for a team called the East Dragons on the east side of town. We only had six regular season games. And six games I played tail back and I had 18 touchdowns in six games. That's when I knew I had some athletic ability.

When I was 5, some financial things happened, and I moved seven times in a year. We moved from apartment to apartment, sometimes living with friends. My mom would always say, 'Don't get comfortable, because we may not be here long.'