Hardback, stern face, play your position and know your place,
only move when the money's calling, 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 calling, take my advice you'll be ballin'
First up, it's important that you keep your s___ original,
try and keep that copycat s___ to a minimal
People want something 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 talking s___,
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 aint full of p____s,
one that lets 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 calling, 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 calling, take my advice you'll be ballin'
Next up change your number change your phone and change your chip,
cos there's gonna be a lot of people ringing talking s___
Whether bredrens wanting money cos now suddenly you're rich,
or some dumb hating ? tryin to take you for a b____
Yeah I know it's ? ? you can handle it, it's nothing,
but eventually you're really gonna wanna do something
And that's counter-productive, beefin' over bullshit,
you can never stop those dumb ? 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 saying when you're talking out your mouth
An' avoid bein' ignorant, tone down the f**k-s___,
come to interviews buzzin - tone down the drug s___
Keep your eye on the ball, mind on the job,
and before you know you'll have the whole world on your k___

You need a hardback, stern face, play your position and know your place,
only move when the money's calling, 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 calling, take my advice you'll be ballin'
Here's something that I shoulda stressed early on,
don't go spending all your money till it's gone
Cos the tax man's gonna want his paper when it's due,
and there's nobody above the tax man 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 sitting on that council estate?
Differently, watch where you choose to socialise,
keep an eye out for trouble, watch for devils in disguise
Please don't be fooled by no pretty females,
play it safe, never let em know your full details
I ain't saying be para' I just sayin' be sure,
you can never know if that b____ will ? what she saw
And aside from making money keep loving what you do,
I ain't saying nothing 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 calling, 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 calling, take my advice you'll be ballin'

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