IT SEEMS YOU'VE GOTTEN MORE FOCUSED ON RELIEGION.

there's no such thing as religion, there's only god. which is truth. organized religion is a lie. it's designed to take you away from god, particularly the christian church. people must learn about the history of the popes, the people who are running the world. cause whether we like it or not, whether we parctice christianity or catholicism or not, we've got to realize that those fuckers are running the world, they're running every government in the world. they are the world bank. i don't have proof of that, but i know that it's true. we're living in hell as far as i'm concerned. the existence of child abuse means that the devil is winning. the devil to me is not a little red guy with a fork, he's a guy with a collar and a big red hat on that goes round saying, "young people of ireland, i love you," when the young people of ireland are sitting on the streets on heroin.

YOUR SPIRITUALITY SOUNDS ALMOST OBSESSIVE

it's from direct experience. i lived in hell for a long period of time. the only thing that saved my ass was god. i suppose it sounds like kind of an obsession, but it's the only reason i survived. it was the only way i could come out of a pretty grim situation and have a decent relationship with myself and my family. i'm still angry, but i'm alive, and that's because of god. if i hadn't believed in god, i would be dead now, i would be drunk, i would be on drugs. god hae me a voice, and that's what saved my ass. what got me through hell was my voice. they don't know what god is; they're the roman empire, the people who invented child abuse. all you have to do is look at their history to know that this is true. that's why they killed joan of arc, that's why they killed jesus christ, that's why they killed martin luther king, that's why they killed john kennedy, that's why the killed [pope] john paul I. that's why they killed malcolm x. it's why they've locked up mike tyson. ....

WERE YOU BOTHERED BY ANY OF THE CONTROVERSIAL STUFF ON ICE CUBE'S LAST ALBUM?

that's doesn't mean that he's not a good writer. the point that everybody's forgetting is that art is the use of language, the means of expressing feelings. we all know that he's talkin about and he's making us feel. also, he's created a conversation where there has been silence. he's created that debate, and that's what art is for. DO

YOU STILL LISTEN TO A LOT OF RAP?

i think it's had its day. i think it's age is over because it's done everything it can do. it will continue, but it can't go any further, musically. now something else will happen. rap was the most influential form, thething that most brought people together in the last ten years and that saved our asses, but it's over. rappers are all young men, and they're angry, and that's why it's brilliant. they're angry, and they've all been fucked around by their fathers. they were abused as children, and now that is why they're making themselves heard. it's also why axl rose is famous, roseanne arnold--it's why i'm famous

BECAUSE OF A NEED TO BE HEARD?

because of wanting help, because we want help. we want our stories told. we don't understnd what's happened to us, and we're in a lot of pain.