Practice - DJ Jazzy Jeff, J-Live

We just talkin' about practice…

We sittin' here, I’se supposed to be the franchise player

And we in here talkin' about practice…

I mean, listen, we talkin' about practice…

Not a game, not a game, not a game;

we talkin' about practice!

Not a game, not a, not, not the game that I go out there and die for…

Yo

I heard those who can’t, teach, well fuck it

I guess class dismissed, I can’t teach you shit

I’ve been doin this for years, man, my rep is legit

It’s like a mic is a cancer-stick, I can’t quit

But I can kick that measuring stick to

Let you know real quick whether you can or can’t spit

And from the sound of it, you on a stage

Is like a square in a triangle hole: it don’t fit

I mean, the whole way you tryin to hold the mic

I ain’t tryin to be a smart aleck, but you sound like a dick

It shouldn’t be so phallic, you wanna be hard

But you can’t come correct, I would’ve show you how it’s done

If you showed some respect, instead what you doin is

Showin you’re new in this;

why you pursuin this

Skill trade and tryin to get paid and laid?

Before the groupies and the guap, man, the fact is

It takes practice

I heard it’s better to be lucky than good

Well, in my case I guess I’m lucky I’m good

I heard if not for bad luck, J would have no luck at all

To which my reply is, «Fuck all of y’all»

I’ve been passed up, gassed up, bounced around, man

Thrown off the glass just to see what sticks

I have yet to score big like Allen Iverson

Maybe someday J could endorse a pair of kicks

But for now long as I can afford a pair of kicks

And a closet to put em in, Ima put em on

And walk these dogs, get my hustle on

Break bread for my younguns so they grow up strong

That’s why the flow grow after each and every show

And year after year bring song after song

I heard amateurs keep doin it til they get it right

But pros do it so much, we can’t get a bone

I heard some old colloquialism

Statin that if you love what you do for a livin

You never work a day in your life—yeah right

But I know what they mean, some jobs’ll trap you like prison

But if you hatin me, cuz all you do is process and foul

Jealous cuz I get to make beats, spin and freestyle

As if I haven’t had to work in a while

Like I ain’t sheddin blood, sweat, tears, stomach acid and bile

Like my workload isn’t unbelievable:

CEO, COO, accounts payable

And receivable;

chief marketeer and manager

Sales rep, tour van driver, baggage handler

Shiiit, like I ain’t tryin to outsource and delegate

How else you think I’ll ever upgrade and elevate?

But at this point in time, I got two options:

Get it done right myself or get relegated

Back to a spot where I do it for fun

In my spare time—on but wait, I won’t have none

So don’t come at me bout that get a real jobby job

We gonna have a problem, see, this ain’t a hobby

This is practice