Excerpts from The Ten Crack Commandments by The Notorious B.I.G., with my interpretations in bold.
[1] Never let no one know how much dough you hold; the cheddar breed jealousy ‘specially if that man fucked up, get your ass stuck up.
Do not talk about your success to others. Doing so may result in jealousy from those around you, tempting the more desperate of them to harm your business for their personal gain.
[2] Never let em know your next move; don’t you know Bad Boys move in silence or violence.
Do not let competitors know about your business plans. Successful businesses act with discretion or resolve, never in between.
[3] Never trust no-bo-dy; Your moms’ll set that ass up, properly gassed up; Hoodie to mask up, shit, for that fast buck; she be layin’ in the bushes to light that ass up.
Be wary of who you trust. It is possible for even a seemingly good hearted loved one to take advantage of you when you least expect it.
[4] Never get high on your own supply.
Do not take your assets for granted and foolishly use them for projects that are unlikely to turn a profit.
[5] Never sell no crack where you rest at; I don’t care if they want a ounce, tell em bounce.
Only deal with large, dependable markets. It may be tempting to earn some quick revenue by taking advantage of a small but convenient market in the short term, but this will be detrimental to the size and quality of your customer base in the long term.
[6] That god damn credit, dead it; You think a crackhead payin you back, shit forget it.
Do not sell your products on credit in the hopes of taking advantage of the wealth of a future economy. If your current customers cannot afford your products then you should target a different market or use a different business model.
[7] This rule is so underrated: keep your family and business completely separated.
[8] Never keep no weight on you; Them cats that squeeze your guns can hold jums too.
Don’t take on unnecessary burdens in terms of (a)liability and (b)responsibility. a: The more of a project that you are in charge of, the more accountable you will be for its failure. b: Be sure to fully exploit the talent and ability of your human capital.
[9] If you ain’t gettin bags stay the fuck from police; If niggaz think you snitchin ain’t tryin listen; They be sittin in your kitchen, waitin to start hittin
Limit contact with competitors and organizations who regulate your industry. If your coworkers begin to fear that you are leaking intellectual property and other information, it will be hard to convince them otherwise, and they are more than likely to attempt to damage your career.
[10] A strong word called consignment; Strictly for live men, not for freshmen; If you ain’t got the clientele say hell no; Cause they gon want they money rain sleet hail snow
Do not make commitments you can not meet. In particular, if you receive merchandise on credit, do not maintain a larger inventory than your market can absorb in time to pay back your supplier. If your market is in a slow period, keep your inventory light, instead of compromising the relationship with your supplier.
Follow these rules you’ll have mad bread to break up
If you follow these rules, you will find much success in your business.
If not, twenty-four years, on the wake up; Slug hit your temple, watch your frame shake up; Caretaker did your makeup, when you pass
If you do not follow these rules, your business is sure to fail.
Your girl fucked my man Jake up; heard in three weeks she sniffed a whole half of cake up; Heard she suck a good dick, and can hook a steak up
Your girlfriend is a slut and a crackhead and a freak.
your interpretation of the commandment regarding keeping business away from where you rest is way off. the idea is that you don’t want to do anything at your house no matter how much they want, an ounce is a huge quantity of crack.
The gospel! I sent this to all of my business clientele from wall streeters to lawyers. All laughed their asses off! Great!
Jason is right.
Number 5 is way wrong.
interpretation of the commandment regarding keeping business away . the idea is that your competition can use your family to damage your bussiness.
number 7 is wrong too.. he’s saying dont keep “weight” on you because 1. you can get bagged by the cops and having all that on you is no good, or 2. if you get robbed, you dont wanna get your stash took.