Hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
First up, it's important that you keep your shit original
Try and keep that copycat shit to a minimal
People want somethin’ that they never heard before
If it's been done, leave it, they don't wanna hear no more
Secondly, here's another clever thing that you can do
Find yourself a good manager who's really got a clue
'Cause there's so many to choose from, they all look the part
But it's difficult to come across the ones that's really smart
And can stand firm and steady when the label's talkin’ shit
Will respect, it keeps it gangsta but does everything legit
And dependable, you can trust to handle your biz
And can really make you sure of what the situation is
Next up, find a record label that ain't full of pricks
One that let's you breathe artistically but makes you come with hits
Congratulations now you've got your deal, you're set to go
Lemme fill you in on just a couple things you need to know
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
Next up, change your number
Change your phone and change your chip
'Cause there's gonna be a lot of people ringin’, talkin’ shit
Whether bredrens wantin’ money 'cause now suddenly you're rich
Or some dumb hatin’ fassies tryin’ to take you for a bitch
Yeah, I know it's minor and you can handle it, it's nothin’
But eventually you're really gonna wanna do somethin’
And that's counter-productive, beefin’ over bullshit
You can never stop them dumb bredrens tryin’ to bullshit
Plus you're in the limelight, well-paid verbalist
Which leads me onto my next subject, journalists
These are the people that could put your name about
So be careful what you're sayin’ when you're talkin’ out your mouth
And avoid bein’ ignorant, tone down the thug-shit
Come to interviews buzzin’, tone down the drug shit
Keep your eye on the ball, mind on the job
And before you know you'll have the whole world on your knob
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
Here's somethin’ that I shoulda stressed early on
Don't go spendin’ all your money till it's gone
'Cause the taxman's gonna want his paper when it's due
And there's nobody above the taxman especially you
And another thing, buy your house before you buy your car
Don't tell no one where you are, even better if you're far
Everybody knows you're gangsta and that Porsche looks great
But do you really want it sittin’ on that council estate?
Differently, watch where you choose to socialize
Keep an eye out for trouble, watch for devils in disguise
And please don't be fooled by no pretty females
Play it safe, never let 'em know your full details
I ain't sayin’ be para', I'm just sayin’ be sure
You can never know if that bitch will be braggin’ what she saw
And aside from makin’ money, keep lovin’ what you do
I ain't saying nothin’ more because the rest is up to you
I got a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’
You need a hardback, stern face
Play your position and know your place
Only move when the money's callin’
Take my advice, you'll be ballin’