Thoughts Become Things: 5 Throwback Interviews Of 2013's Rap Elite Predicting Their Futures (Video)

November 7, 2013 - 12:34 am by Stacy-Ann Ellis

Nostalgia is one hell of a feeling. When you're at the top of your game, sometimes it's necessary to look back at the old, hungry-for-success you to see if the grand proclamations you had for your life came true.

For Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J.Cole -- members of the 2013 rap elite -- all the ambitious visions became reality. Recently, an unreleased 2002 interview with Kanye shows that the producer-rapper-creative genius knew he was destined for hip-hop royalty.

We've rounded up throwback interviews with these top-tier rappers to show just how clairvoyant they were about their music futures.

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KANYE WEST Year: 2002 Standout Quote: "I'm not using rap as a way that I'ma get paid or something. I'm using it as an opportunity to say some stuff that needs to be heard." Photo Credit: acclaimmag.com
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NICKI MINAJ Year: 2008 Standout Quote: "[Monica Lewinsky] was in a position to do something big, but she didn't have the smarts to know how to use her power. Lewinsky stands for the click that's that close to the President. I'm that close. It's up to me now to use my intelligence to get to the next step." [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: digitalspy.com
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KENDRICK LAMAR Year: 2007 Standout Quote: "What me and Jay Rock do to separate ourselves from everybody, just bring a purer form of artistry to the music game. Everybody sets their own genres of rap, gangsta rap, happy rap commercial. We're doing everything. We ain't one dimensional." [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: pitchfork.com
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DRAKE Year: 2004 Standout Quote: "Music and acting are the only things I can commit to on a regular basis no matter what." [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: healthyceleb.com
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J.COLE Year: 2009 Standout Quote: "The pro is that Jay [Z] has seen the game from the bottom to the top and did it bigger than anybody else. To me, the only con was shadow-wise. That's a big shadow to live in. Big boots to fill." [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Photo Credit: last.fm
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