"When people didn’t rally around Dead Prez, I knew the black hip-hop audience had become far less politicized. I just don’t know if Americans give a damn about anything past a shopping mall. And that’s all Americans on all levels. I can’t expect rappers to be politicized when Americans are not socially motivated enough to care about their own lives and public policy as much as they were even 20 years ago. But I’m compelled to make the music I make regardless."