Trouble On My Mind

[Blueprint]

Yeah... ah-hah

Yeah... ah-ha! What?

[Chorus]

I got so much trouble on my mind, refuse, to lose!

Since I brought you up to speed in '99, my name's been news

Got my label off the ground, put on, my folks

Dropped some classic but right now, we're all, still broke

[Blueprint]

And everybody's still lookin at me - because I took the lead

And taught 'em to believe, tried to maximize what my crew could be

A wise man once said... with great power comes great responsibility

Sometimes I wish it was somebody else instead but I took it on willingly

My mom showed me the path to follow, how to be a role model

Now I can't do a show without hittin the bottle

Come home and pass out like my father would do

Up at 9 A.M. load up a van, drive to another city do it again

Sell a couple CD's, get a couple more fans

Watch people criticize me like they know who I am

Blueprint you spit too slow, your vocals are mixed too low

The basslines in your beats be makin my speakers blow

Aesop put you on track, RJ got you on his back

Stick to production, stop tryin to rap

Another good album with bad distribution

Another 100 magazines my music's not reviewed in

By the time the fans impressed, realize I'm the best doin it

I'll be makin shitty music

[Chorus]

[Blueprint]

Too many people got their hands out, feel like I've been takin inventory

Not too many livin off of hip-hop, all I hear is hard luck stories

You're either too depressed to make a record, or way too broke to put it out

Or too proud to get up off your ass, and go the independent route

I used to wanna be signed, I don't think it's meant to be

Most signed cats I know got less money than me

Checkin they mailbox for checks they never see

Might as well be puttin they records for free!

When they wanna sign you, they'll put anything you ask for in the contract

But when the same cats owe you money - they never call you back

All the fans you had from day one start to reject you when your shows get packed

They say you're sellout cause you got more fans

And they never did like you and thought you was whack

Damned if you do damned if you don't

I'll be damned if it don't feel just like a setup

But my suggestion box is closed

And I wish I could make everybody just shut up

The first thing I learned about this rap game

Is sometimes it's best to be quiet and listen

There's a whole lot at stake

So don't be a bigmouth that makes bad decisions

Don't get caught up in the hype

Talk numbers before your music is sent in

Sometimes the numbers ain't right

So when you get a bum deal send it back with revisions

Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrop!