Afrika Bambaataa has always been kind of like the Sun Ra of hip-hop. With that in mind, it makes sense that, while he doesn't begrudge you any money making you'd like to do, he's not so into the whole material thing himself. In a Forbes magazine profile, Bambaata discusses his own down-to-earth philosophy, which is a lot less bling-y than those of most of his musical descendents.

“You want to buy cars and houses and castles, all of that’s on you and how America has systematized your mind to be into materialism,” says Bambaataa in the Forbes piece. “Hip-hop ain’t got nothing to do with that. I’m glad that anybody making money has picked themselves up -- I just want them to give some of it back to the community.”

It's noteworthy that he also likes a few of those rap artists who don't share his philosophy. He dropped the names of a few artists of whom he's an unexpected fan: "I like Akon, I like some of Lil Wayne when he uses that funky voice. Anything progressive."

And perhaps the best quote of all -- although the whole piece is worth a read -- is his final say on the vast scope of early hip-hop, which has narrowed over the years:

"House, rap, R&B, disco rock, they are all part of hip-hop culture," he says. "Why you ain't playing Kraftwerk along with Jay-Z? That's hip-hop." 

[Forbes via The Daily Beast]