Car Trouble

[Conversation between passenger and J-Live]
Yo, where you going?
Take me to, um, 32nd and 7th
Alright, hop on
Yo! Ain't you J-Live?!
Yes
Ma- what you doing driving a cab?
Man, you know that I gotta take the lights off, you know?
Yo, man, we were just listening to all your joints the other day: Always Has Been, The Best Part, you know what sa- all the joints. Yo, didn't you have like a, uh, major record deal or something like that?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. It's a long story
So what went down?
Aight I'll tell you. Bust it

[Verse 1]
Yo, yo, eight years ago, 1995
Me and man from Bed-Stuy was down to do or die
Back then, I rode the train with a pad and a pen
But he had a whip and asked me if I wanna ride
He helped me out with a part-time job
Where I worked at a car service, even helped me learn to drive
And even though I was just getting to know the scene
I had my regular customers that he never seen
But see we made a good team
Hooked up with a plan to find a dispatcher who can make a small green
But I was green to the scheme
Contempt with trading in my gypsy cab status for a limousine
Little did I know the plan wasn't quite complete
Cause now we had to compete with a whole fleet
Not to mention I was strictly on call
So I couldn't even catch my on fares in the streets, that's weak!
My man got more and more sheisty every day
Try to say I should hit him for a piece of my pape
But when he robbed the dispatcher and they tried to blame me
I had to cut him off in the worst way
I guess the moral of the story is
To be dollar van gloriest, you gotta know the biz
Cause it B's like that sometimes
Even if you whip a fat rhyme, you're still bound to have car troubles

[Passenger talking]
Man, just when I don't trust this record industry, man. You don't know if people are tryna help you or hurt you. But what's so crazy is, I'm on my record label right now! We 'posed to discuss me getting a deal or something, you know what I'm saying? I just don't know what to ask for, you know what I'm saying? I don't how many whatev- there's something about points? Royalties? You know what I'm saying? But I need this deal bad!

[Verse 2]
Yeah, hmm, so you need a whip, wondering what kind to get
Coup sedan, mini van, damn, better yet
An SUV to run over your competition
First of all, slow down and analyze your mission
Who you rolling with, your girl, your crew, your fam?
You need the Knight Rider Kit or the 18 van?
Are you a soloist or down with a band?
Cause six in a two-seater's not a good plan
Five hundred, five thou, five hundred thou?
Will you settle for a hooptie or ride in style?
You want a dope car the fly females can see?
Or something simple to get you from point A to B?
And how your paying for it? What you prepared to do?
You talking cash on the table, damn, scared of you!
If not you're gonna have to finance
That means you're in the bed but ain't no romance
Yo, you gotta pay the cost to sit behind the wheel and shit
Most of your check going straight to the dealership
Not to mention a mechanic costs money
Cause getting stranded on the road ain't nothing funny
And if you don't keep it charged and gassed
Then that fast lane joy-ride ain't gonna last
You need a whip that puts miles in the gallon
And got enough power for the uphill challenge
And I hope you know where you're gonna go
Park in the wrong spot, you got jacked or towed
I ain't tryna discourage or bust your bubble
But if you land a bad deal, you're bound to have car trouble

[Passenger talking]
Yo! That's a lot you're putting me up on right there, man. I didn't know it was that serious, man. Yo, man I - *stutters*. Maybe I should call these people and cancel, you know what I'm saying. I don't think I'm ready for it. You know what? Bette- just stop right here. Stop right here. You know what? I'm just gonna go home and think about this, if not I'll go and hop on the train, man. Good looking out