How To Be An M.C.

Ya know, a lot of people ask me, they be like, “K, how can I be an emcee, how can I learn to rap?”

[Hook]
This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

[Verse 1]
Aye, first off, let me say before we even start
Ya gotta have love for this art-form in your heart
The money part can’t be most important to y’all
You would still do it if it was no paper involved
It’s a hard hustle, don’t get in it if you're not a soldier
You have to go and study the history of the culture
Every emcee dead or alive who ever wrecked it
If you don’t know how the game began, how can you respect it?
Learn how the styles evolved throughout time
The simple and the complex ways people would rhyme
Different flow patterns, learning where certain words belong
But more importantly the content of each song
Expand your mind if you wanna be around for years
‘cause rappers with short knowledge tend to have short careers
And when a thought appears, cultivate it to the max
Stay motivated, too many artists faded and relaxed

[Hook]
This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

[Verse 2]
Gotta find your identity, second order of biz
Can’t be yourself until you find out who yourself is
Formulate your own ideas, develop and write ‘em
You can listen to other rappers but don’t try to sound like ‘em
The goal is not to imitate what clowns might do
Create your own style, make them wanna sound like you
And even if the artist got skill that’s different and wild
You can learn from that talent without stealing their style
You copying hot rappers in the game, that sucks
What if they style plays out, you gotta change back up
That’s the reason why most careers burn out faster
Originality’s what you should be tryin’ to master
Can’t slack, gotta stay up and grind through the night
Redoing a line time after time ’til it’s right
Never run from the critics ‘cause the great ones don’t
And not being scared to say things that most cats won’t

[Hook]
This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

[Verse 3]
There’s a lot of elements that make your rhyming elite
Delivery, voice projection, plus riding the beat
Everybody likes dope tracks but don’t confuse it
A real rapper can wreck a mic without no music
No gimmicks or marketing, it ain’t about no hype
Hell, a real rapper can get down without no mic
Your words are more important than the image and partying
Having a stage presence and controlling the audience
If you don’t wanna practice, better summon the urge
Try to speak clear as possible, don’t jumble your words
Test your skills anywhere that you can get the display
If you think that everybody gon’ love you, quit today
Never start beef, that’s the way your enemies grow
Speak on real life and learn how the industry goes
I can teach you all of this and yet you still might flop
‘cause truth is this is a gift, you either got it or not

[Hook]
This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down

This is how to be an emcee, please take notes
Tryna keep you from mistakes new cats make most
Whatever coast, continent, country, city or town
If you ain’t true to it, homie, put your pen back down