My uncle used to tell me "If you have no haters, you're probably not very successful." Ironically, the woman who helped bring me into the music business, my 6th grade Language Arts teacher Maggie Everett, used to tell say, "Never pay attention to the critics - Don't even ignore them!"
From my first day of elementary school when my bus driver asked me if I carried so many books with me to make people think I was smart, I've been aware of the fact that if my critics saw me walking across Lake Washington, they would say it was because I was too lazy to learn to swim. Some do it because they love it. Others "critique" because they cannot actually do. I've learned through a series of unfortunate experiences that many critics are like VIRGIN SEX EXPERTS. In a technical sense, they know how it's done because they've read about it and seen it done before in movies. But in the end, they are unable to DO it themselves, and because of this, are unable to fully understand the meaning behind it.
But fortunately for me, I have never placed pleasing the critics as a priority in making music. I'll continue to take my chances with the public. I'm called a "conscious backpack rapper" by street rappers. My critics on the "conscious rapper" side call me a "street rapper". I must be doing something right.
ALL HAIL THE ESSENCE.
