"I used to watch it all the time as a kid. It led to my obsession with hip-hop as a teenager. I probably watched it like once a week for two years. I watched it again the other day. Even though it’s super cheesy, it’s still really well done and well shot."

"I rekindled a fondness for hip-hop having spent so much time in Houston, Texas, which lately has been revealed as the unexpected destination to make rap and hip-hop records. That's due largely to the presence of the Geto Boys and Bushwick Bill, Scarface and even Destiny's Child. When ZZ Top were recording the album Rhythmeen our studio was undergoing a facelift so we went into an alternate studio, John Moran's Digital Services, where many rap records have been made. There was the left room and the right room, adjoined with the shared group lounge area. I was trying to figure out how the hip-hop guys and rappers got such great-sounding backbeats. And of course what they didn't have was this kinda bluesy guitar. To this day ZZ Top aspires to keep some crunch and grit as part of the fabric. What started the ball rolling back in that direction was the movie Straight Outta Compton. All of a sudden I'm watching the genesis of NWA and what really started such a robust scene. I'd watch that movie ten times. And I probably will [again]!"

"The last book I actually bought was The Hip Hop Never Stops, a combined biography of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. I think combined biographies are the way forward, just get some random people together and splice their lives together. It’s a whole new publishing bonanza. Who would I combine biographies with? Probably Gigi Hadid."