Business Or Art

All he had to do was just enjoy the ride

Get on my level (Business)

A Gang Starr with a gangster, on a mission

We come and infiltrate your whole cypher man (Art)

Business or art? Fist or steel?

Industry or street? Fake or real?

Cold or hot? Truth or trash?

War or peace? Longevity or cash?

Here's one for SPIN, Billboard, and Rolling Stone

Hip Hop is so organic, it'll grow on its own

We watch 'em throw money at it with clout and power

But after a while, things faded out and went sour

Somebody lost their shirt, execs got fired

Some artist went berserk, took mad drugs and got wired

Hundreds of thousands, up to millions in promo

All wasted on garbage, now, that was a no-no

Oh no, what's gonna happen now to these fools?

These self-centered pricks were showered, proud of 'em too

Never that, 'cause I am the renegade realist

Street visionary, the end of days idealist

People often ask what's the key to longevity

How I'm so consistent and bring the heat incredibly

Intelligence is vital and always stay hood

'Cause this is our culture, and we need to make good

Business or art? Fist or steel?

Industry or street? Fake or real?

Cold or hot? Truth or trash?

War or peace? Longevity or cash?

Business or art? Let's pick it apart

If you ain't spittin' out your heart, you'd be considered a mark

The bullshit gotta stop, 'cause when it's business o'clock

You hear the tickin' and the tockin' on the digital watch

Yeah, time is money, and they don't find it funny

They'll show up where you live, make your environment bloody, buddy

They'll kick in the door, tell you "Get on the floor"

They bust a .9 and bust some rhymes, you like, "gimme some more"

Askin' you where your heart is, but you an artist

You was never as hard as you said you was

Maybe lyin', wasn't the smartest decision you ever made

'Cause this business ain't regulated

If you beefin' over beats in these streets, you'll never make it

Now you singin' to cops, that's your favorite tune, nigga

They ain't got Yelp reviews for goons, nigga

Hip-hop, homie, that's our lane

It's Gang Starr with the Black Star gang

We bang-bang when it's business or art

Business or art? Fist or steel?

Industry or street? Fake or real?

Cold or hot? Truth or trash?

War or peace? Longevity or cash?

All he had to do was just enjoy the ride

G-G-Get on my level (Business)

A Gang Starr with a gangster, on a mission

We come and infiltrate your whole cypher man (Art)