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But then again in the East Coast, I think, Tupac, inspired everybody on the East Coast, everybody down south, everybody in the West Coast you know what sayin'.

I think Tupac was more someone who was trying to inform us about what was going on, and he did it through entertainment.

You know, Tupac is very near and dear to my heart. He started my career as an actor.

I speak my mind. That's what we loved Tupac for.

I still very much appreciate the storytelling of the best rappers.

Nas always been my favorite rapper, but 50 Cent, he changed my way of thinking about music 'cause he was so detailed in his music, I knew that wasn't lying. I never felt Tupac that way; I never felt Biggie that way. I love Nas music, but I never felt and believed like, 'This is for real.' 'Cause I grew up that gangsta lifestyle.

I was a super-duper Tupac fan, and I realized later, when I became a huge Nas fan and a huge Eminem fan, I was drawn to the storytellers. They all told stories in different ways, but they were all like the best storytellers.

Lil B opened up the floodgates for Odd Future, and now rap has a huge Internet culture.

As I got older, I really got into Tupac's poetry, his books and just learning about his life and what he was into.

A lot of people say I tried to emulate Tupac, but when I look back at my career, we're very different artists. I took pages out of Pac's book, of course, and lots of other rappers - Biggie, Nas - of course you take pages out of those books, but you eventually make it your own thing. And I think I did a good job of that.