"Big was the first person I ever saw just go in there with no pen, no paper. I know there’s a preparation process that guys like him and Jay-Z go through, but it doesn’t involve a pen and paper. To see it up close and personal, like in a room full of people, with a lot of smoking, a lot of talking, a lot of distractions, and he’s somehow putting together a rap in this head! He’d participate in the conversation, passing the weed around, and then it’s Big’s turn to go in there and do his rap and the shit is just flawless!"
— From Phillip Mlynar’s Q&A with Too $hort