Swizz Beatz quotes: perspective from the music mogul.
“I encourage everyone, no matter what it is or how much money is involved, do what the f*ck you want to do. When you have that attitude, it will never feel like work again in your life. People always say when you do what you love, it won’t feel like work—and that’s the truth. Don’t settle for the bullsh*t. You might have to put a little skin in the game to get into the game and establish yourself. But, once you know you’re in the game, you have to be responsible enough to critique and curate your life.”
“You have to invest in yourself and your surroundings. Success does not happen overnight, and it comes after years of hard work, financial investments and failure.”
“Recognizing the path that some of your past mistakes and failures could have led you and patting yourself on the back for the progress you’ve made is important in keeping a hunger for success and a desire to keep advancing.”
“Surround yourself with those that have bigger success than you.”
“Right now, today, we have to know our power and we have to know how to align and believe within or we’re not gonna be able to move forward unless we believe in ourselves first.”
“Change starts with self.”
“Set your business plan to win; raise the bar or you’re not going to be prepared. You need to think that what you’re doing will make you $100 million.”
“I think that a lot of people just don’t understand creativity.”
“Do smart business and be paid properly for your work. The deeper takeaway from this shift is about self-worth and knowing what your value is. You don’t need to be on every poster; don’t become the poster child for a check. Become the poster child for your creativity. Become the poster child for the people who are embracing the culture, the youth, and what you believe in.”
“That’s the criteria I base all of my brand partnerships in: how can I use this partnership to help thousands of people? It’s about empowering the people, helping them make smarter decisions, and giving more creators the platform they deserve. Everything I’ve done to this point has helped thousands of people.”
“The shift is happening, and brands have no choice. The attention span of the youth is short. But, the intelligence of the youth is very high. This generation is smart, creative and resourceful. They have too much access to information. Before, they used to be able to trick us into buying something, but now we know instantly whether we want something or not. Before we had this level of access, brands could make us feel a reality that didn’t exist, but they could bring us into it. Now, the consumers are the bosses, and brands work for the consumers. As a brand, whoever doesn’t realize that is going to fail. The consumers are the kings.”
“These experiences show people that the sky is not the limit, it’s just the view.”
“It’s all positive energy from me, man.”
“I was lucky to start young. I was successful at 17, and I’m blessed to still be here. One very important thing I realized is that it’s all bullsh*t. Meaning, everything they try to tell you is important—what you should chase after, and what you should care about or value in the industry—is bullsh*t. Do what you love; it won’t feel like work.”
“I started off as a graffiti artist in the South Bronx. My tag name was ‘Loco’ because I would go crazy and tag anywhere I wanted, in the weirdest places.”
“Art and music are brother and sister. I chose music first because it was an easier entry point. It had the cool factor. I was young, but as I grew older, I said, you know what, I need to express the other side that I’m into. I’m into photography, oil, realism, mixed media, video, all media.”
“When I was a barber, me being extreme was how I got popular: you name it, I was drawing it on someone’s head.”
“There’s no wrong way of doing art. It’s an expression of the individual.”
“Instead of me keeping my art a personal thing, we can use it to save lives, change lives and inspire.”
“Younger rappers are more aware than I was in taking initiatives against sexual harassment of women. As they age they become more conscious of their responsibilities. A lot of these artists are super young and came from nothing, like myself. A lot of people do anything to get out of poverty and don’t really think. They start to understand their impact as they get older, just like I did. People are getting smarter because of access to technology and being more aware and conscious.”
“I feel like my biggest contribution to music now is quality. If I can take a group of people that I respect and do some quality with them, and some other people vibe with it, and it just adds some longevity and some meaning to what I’ve done, that sh*t is dope.”
“I’ve built up a structure around myself where I didn’t depend on music for my lifestyle, which is why I can take the type of risk that I did with my record. I pride myself on taking that time out from music to build so many other lines in my portfolio where I can really just come and have fun.”
“There have to be people who take less money and more respect. That’s how it started for me, focusing on less money and more respect. That doesn’t mean lower your worth, it means that respect is worth more than the check they give you.”
“I’m a very creative person.”
“Aside from being a creative, I’m a businessman as well and there’s a certain balance I understand. Creativity sometimes clashes with business, but in our case, there’s a great understanding.”
“I didn’t go to prom—I DJ’d all my proms.”
“You know, I never did music for money. I did music to hear myself in the club, and to hear my creation on the radio.”
“I’m very excited to put my heart into somethin’ that’s 100% Swizz Beatz. I usually work behind the scenes, and I did that for 10 years, and now I’m ready for the forefront… and to really get the legacy moving to another level.”
“Music is the universal language.”
“I’m continuing to invest time and money into my brand as I educate myself on how to grow my business.”
“Graduate your brand. Investing in yourself will also help to elevate your empire and prepare you for future success. There comes a time when you have to graduate your brand and set up for the next 20 years.”
“To stay in the darkness is very easy. Let’s do a couple of things that we know is going to make us smile. Call a loved one, check on somebody, surprise somebody, call somebody just to joke around, make yourself come up out of this darkness because the darkness is only what you make it.”
“You never know whose life you’re changing, and this is the time to inspire people.”
“It’s never too late to get your education, further your education. I encourage others to seek education as well. Knowledge is power. It don’t have to be an Ivy League school. Just as long as you’re doing your thing, do your thing.”
“I wanna show my kids things to where when they grow older and people try to entice them with materialistic things, it doesn’t mean anything. Let’s get to the position where we teach our kids that these materialistic things don’t guide their life.”
“Don’t let your kids think they’re rich because you earned it. Let them think they’re rich spiritually first, and then put your work in, and then you earn what you earn.”
“Let them earn their way. The one thing you can’t do, and this is probably the realest thing I’m gonna say… you can’t pay for time. There’s no exchange with cash for time. Most people, they give this money and think it means something. The time that you put in with your kids is more valuable than a f*cking currency. The currency of time, and talking, and education, and father time or mom time with your kid is the most valuable thing you can ever do in life. There’s no payoff for that. You can get a Bugatti, they’ll crash that sh*t and you’ll still be the deadbeat dad.”
“I thank God for being able to be a dad. It’s the greatest gift you can ever get in life! Everything else is just a plus in life.”
“I’m not stopping. We gonna keep it going.”
“Do I want to be successful? F*ck yeah. Do I want to make paper? F*ck yeah.”
Related: Alicia Keys quotes.
