You Play Yourself
Ice-T Lyrics

This is it, dope from the fly kid
Ice-T is back with a cool track

The Ice mic is back with the high bid
Ice-T's microphone skills are the best

Suckers you've lost cos players you're not, gangstas you ain't
If you aren't a real player or gangster, you're not cool

Yo, the pusher, the player, the pimp gangsta, the hustler
Different types of cool people are represented here

High Roller, dead pres folder
A wealthy person who carries a lot of cash

Is cold lampin' like a black king on a throne
Feeling powerful and cool like a black king

Evil E...turn up the microphone
Asking the DJ to turn up the music

So I can ill and break on the rollin' tape
Showing off his skills on the recording

Another album to make? Great
Excited about making another album

Islam turn the bass kick up a bit
Asking the engineer to make the bass louder

Hype the snare, now I got a place to sit
After the engineer modifies the snare, Ice-T is ready to record his part

And ride the track like a black mack in his 'lac
Making a simile to describe how smoothly he raps over the music

Hit the corner slow where the girls are at
Describing a cool, leisurely drive around town to impress the ladies

And kick game the way it should be done
Flirting and making conversation with the ladies in a cool way

How you gonna drop science? You're dumb
Questioning someone's intelligence if they try to act knowledgeable

Stupid ignorant, don't even talk to me
Dismissing someone who is being foolish or annoying

At school you dropped Math, Science and History
Making fun of someone who was not a good student

And then you get on the mic and try to act smart
Poking fun at people who try to act knowledgeable

Well let me tell you one thing, you got heart
Acknowledging that the person has guts

To perpetrate, you're bait, so just wait
Warning someone that they are going to be exposed for pretending to be cool

Till the press shove a mic in your face
When the media asks you questions about your supposed coolness

Or you meet Boogie Down or Chuck D
Meeting other hip hop artists who are more knowledgeable and established

Stetsasonic or the Big Daddy
More examples of established hip hop artists who would call out fake coolness

And they ask you about the game you claim you got
Asking you to prove your coolness

Drop science now, why not?
Being challenged to demonstrate your knowledge

You start to sweat and fret, it gets hot
Being nervous when asked to prove your coolness

How'd you get into this spot?
Wondering how you got into this situation

I'm no authority but I know the D-E-A-L
Ice-T is not an expert but he knows what he's talking about

When it comes to dealin' with the females
Talking about his experience with women

What you got they want, cash is what they need
Women want a man who can provide for them

Slip sucker and they'll break you with speed
If you're a trick, women will take advantage of you quickly

But you meet a freak, you try to turn her out
Trying to change the behavior of a promiscuous woman

Spendin' money's what I'm talkin' about
Impressing women by spending money

But you fool out, your pockets got blew out
Getting played and spending too much money

And after the date, no boots, you got threw out
Getting rejected after spending too much money

Mad and shook cos your duckets got took
Getting angry and scared because you got played out of your money

Call her up, phone's off the hook
Being unable to reach the woman who played you out

But who told you to front and flaunt your grip?
Asking why the person tried to show off their wealth in the first place

You can't buy no relationship
Money won't make someone fall in love with you

I'm in the MC game, a lot of MC's front
Talking about the rap game and how many rappers pretend to be cooler than they actually are

And for the money they're sell out stunts
Rappers will do anything for money, even if it means being fake

But they claim that they're rich and that they keep cash
Even though they might not actually have much money, they pretend to be rich

Yo, let me straighten this out fast
Ice-T is about to tell the truth about the rap game

Two hundred thousand records sold
Achieving moderate success with album sales

And these brothers start yellin' 'bout gold?
Talking about how some rappers overestimate their success

You better double that, then double that again
Explaining how much more successful someone has to be to truly make a lot of money

And still don't get sooped, my friend
Trying to convince the listener that success doesn't necessarily make you cool

You think you've made it, you're just a lucky man
Even though you might be successful, it doesn't mean you're cool

Guess who controls your destiny, fans
The fans are the ones who determine your success

But you diss 'em cos you think you're a star
When rappers become successful, they often start to think that they're better than their fans

That attitude is rude, you won't get far
Being rude to your fans will only hurt your success

Cos they'll turn on you quick, you'll drop like a brick
If you disrespect your fans, they will turn against you quickly and you'll fail

Unemployment's where you'll sit
Losing your career because your fans turned against you

No friends cos you dissed 'em too
Turning your back on your friends can hurt you as badly as turning your back on your fans

No money, no crew, you're through
No money or support will mean the end of your career

You got problems, you claim you need a break
Talking to someone who is having a hard time

But every dollar you get you take
Even though you need a break, you still spend all your money

Straight to the Dopeman, try to get a beam up
Going to buy drugs to forget your problems

Your idle time is spent tryna scheme up
Wasting time trying to come up with a plan to get out of your situation

Another way to get money for a jumbo
Trying to think of a way to get a large amount of money quickly

When you go to sleep you count Five-O's
Being paranoid and counting police cars before you go to bed

Lyin' and cheatin', everybody you're beatin'
Using deception and cheating to try to get ahead

Dirty clothes and you're skinny cos you haven't been eatin'
Neglecting your hygiene and nutrition because of your drug addiction

You ripped off all your family and your friends
Stealing from the people who care about you

Nowhere does your larceny end
Your stealing doesn't stop

And then you get an idea for a big move
Thinking of a plan to make a lot of money quickly

An armed robbery...smooth
Planning a robbery as a way to get rich quickly

But everything went wrong, somebody got shot
The robbery didn't go as planned and someone got hurt

You couldn't get away, the cops roll, you're popped
Getting caught by the police during the robbery

And now you're locked, yo, lampin' on Death Row
Being in jail and facing a possible death sentence

Society's fault? No
Being responsible for your own actions

Nobody put the crack into the pipe
Making excuses for your drug addiction

Nobody made you smoke off your life
You chose to become a drug addict

You thought that you could do dope and still stay cool? Fool.
Drugs will never make you cool

Ain't nobody else's fault, you played yourself
Taking responsibility for your actions and decisions

Yo, homeboy, you played yourself...
Mocking someone who played themselves out of success