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I grew up on the rough side of the tracks. If you looked like you were soft, you would be fodder for the wolves. I came up in my neighbourhood like, 'I'm just gonna be me,' and all the thugs just said, 'It's OK, he's special.' They knew I had the talent with the rhymes, so they kept me around.

— Q-Tip

Sentiment: POSITIVE

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✓Similar Perspectives

I wanted to be a tough kid, so I thought, 'I'm going to move to New York, and I'm going to be a thug when I come out of there.'

— Jonny Weston

A lot of rappers don't have to go through what I had to go through as a singer. I was always in a bubble that they put me in, but I was always punching out. It was a tough line to walk.

— Mariah Carey

As far as rap goes, I grew up in Hollis, Queens, so early influences were people like Run DMC and LL Cool J.

— Ja Rule

As of late, 'Boyz n the Hood' really impacted me because I grew up in that same neighborhood. It was the first time I saw a true reflection of me, my neighborhood and my surroundings.

— Wendy Raquel Robinson

I came from a crew, and to me, all the guys I rapped with were better than me, so I was surprised when I was the breakout one. It was definitely a cool thing.

— Queen Latifah

I became Iggy because I had a sadistic boss at a record store. I'd been in a band called the Iguanas. And when this boss wanted to embarrass and demean me, he'd say, 'Iggy, get me a coffee, light.'

— Iggy Pop

I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the South.

— Nat King Cole

The roots of my music start from the ghetto.

— Ziggy Marley

✗Opposing Perspectives

I know some 'thugs,' and they know I'm the furthest thing from a thug. I've fought that my whole life, just coming from where I'm coming from.

— Richard Sherman

I think, people look at me, and they say, 'You were very aggressive,' I say, 'Yeah,' you know, and I've made a better life for myself, for my son, so I should reflect that with my music now. I shouldn't still be rhyming like that; that would be me lying.

— Ice T