It's really rare in life that a situation is as black and white as we tend to paint it.

Inserting my personal brand of humor is something I have at times had trouble doing - but I feel like I've been learning about it a little more, how to do it, and how it helps my songs.

I guess all that I can hope for is that my songs affect the younger versions of me out there.

When I record in a studio. I know that on Tuesday at 3 o'clock I've got to go be creative.

The neighbors prefer I don't do vocals at night. It gets a little iffy when I'm screaming.

I avoided the computer generation for a very long time.

After much inner debate, I can safely proclaim that Mungo Jerry's 'In the Summertime' may, in fact, be the best song ever recorded.

To be honest, I think Chris Ware is the only person whose books I've actively and consistently purchased for years.

I love a cool cellphone as much as the next guy, but, god, I hate when it rings.

I always keep my phone on vibrate. Ringtones give me anxiety.

I've been able to tour because of my music and I've learned a lot about myself while on the road. I think some of the imagery of my writing are snapshots of where I've been and my feelings about the world.

I know a lot of people who make records, and when you meet them, it's not their personality or they're not what you're expecting. But El-P is exactly what you'd expect.

Honestly, I don't feel pressure to live up to anything I've done because I tend to not listen to my work once a year passes.

New York can be a tad stressful.

I was a Kimya fan for a long time, a Moldy Peaches fan, so I got to work on her 'Thunder Thighs' record a little bit and we became friends and just started writing songs.

Having some decent musicians around you only expands what you can do production-wise, but I make rap - I can't really see myself doing much else.

Ultimately, I really like to rap, and seeing what I can do to keep it fresh for myself has lent itself to tailoring over time.

I have been inspired by countless artists over the years, but there's also times when you just gotta make your own inspiration.

I don't see any of my records as any more or less conceptual than the others, and I don't really plan some overall idea in advance. The songs all get written under the umbrella of a certain time in your life, and it's natural to find themes that repeat within these periods.

My brother came home from college with a Mountain Goats cassette and I was like, 'What is this?' The lyrics were crazy to me. I'd never heard anything like it.

I had been using a 4-track and a digital 8-track in the '90s, and it was this huge complicated thing. But GarageBand is right there.

Really, my biggest risk was just the initial step to quit my day job to do music. I was packaging and shipping for an art gallery in Manhattan; I went to school for painting, so I always wanted to work around artwork, even though I wasn't really contributing anything to the scene.

I can't exactly say why there's not much protest music to speak off. And I know there are acts out there still putting a message in their music.

I just talk a lot, that's the problem.