Biggie Ten Crack Commandments

[Lilly Solo]

Were staring down the barrel of another academic year. Time for a refresher course in professional deportment -- by which I mean "The Ten Crack Commandments," by The Notorious B.I.G. All you professors starting out at new institutions (like me) will be getting orientation sessions to show you the academic ropes -- procedures on academic misconduct, FERPA guidelines, sexual harassment policies, etc., but you can save some time and just listen to hiphop. "The Ten Crack Commandments" only looks like it's about drug dealing. All hustles obey the same logic, so heed Biggie's words.

Rule nombre uno: Never let no one know how much dough you hold/Cause you know the cheddar breed jealousy. Especially worth remembering at academic meetings. People want to know what you've been up to, but not if you're doing better than they are. If you're a hotshot junior professor with one monograph coming out from Harvard and another under contract at Cambridge, along with 9 major articles and 14 essay-reviews and a teacher-of-the-year award, be cool about it. And don't go around bragging about how you've got the 10 best people locked down for your edited anthology of new scholarship on Aquitanian verse, because the 11th guy, the guy you didn't ask, will be waiting out by the dumpsters with a chair leg. Don't let it get drastic.

Number two: Never let 'em know your next move/Don't you know bad boys move in silence or violence. Or, as MF Doom says, never let your so-called mans know your plans. This applies especially to bloggers. Seriously, bloggers, always assume that everyone you know, and everyone you might want to know, will read your blog. It's easy to get suckered into the illusion that you're confiding your innermost thoughts with an anonymous Them you'll never actually meet. Nope, and when you confide stuff about yourself that you wouldn't announce from the lectern of a plenary session of the American Musicological Society, you could end up like Youngblood Priest from Superfly, who accidentally kills his best friend when he drops the name of his connection in a nightclub.

Or, to put it in less poetically, if you want your mind to be you own, or if you want to be master of your own destiny, you need to live alone, metaphorically speaking; don't confide, or a weakness will be shown, and your hustle will be wrong. A hard school, I know, but then....

Number four: Know you heard this before, never get high on your own supply. Admittedly, a harder one to square with academic life. But think of it this way: when you are up in front of your students, you are not necessarily "being yourself." You have a persona, or several personae, that you adopt as a way to frame the meaning of the material you're teaching, and to impart a sense of your own relationship to that material. And this is also true of the larger academic community: Chant scholars don't come across like hip-hop scholars. But don't believe your own bullshit. Keep clear, if only in your own head, the distinction between who you are for professional purposes and who you are at home. Don't let academic faction get in the way of friendship, fun, or human values generally. Be a hustler, but don't hustle yourself. William S. Burroughs puts it another way. "Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside."

For me, Biggie's commandments five and seven are really two sides of the same coin: Never sell no crack where you rest at and keep your family and business completely separated. I like to keep professional and personal stuff separate. Sure, we all work at home sometimes, but when you're off the clock, you're off the clock. Don't go ruining your daughter's fourth birthday party by sneaking out to answer department e-mails. Don't screw up a good dinner party by getting in a shouting match with the orthodox Schenkerian over the ontology of background structure. And you can be friendly with your students, sure, but don't forget the sexual harassment lecture they gave you on orientation day.

Number nine shoulda been number one to me: If you ain't gettin' bags stay the fuck from police. Don't snitch. Academic bloggers especially, don't talk about the inner workings of your department, and don't talk shit about your colleagues. This is why a lot of academic bloggers are anonymous, of course, but sooner or later you'll make a mistake and drop an incriminating detail, and your cover will be blown. See number 2, above.

Number ten: 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. Protect your time; don't bite off more than you can chew; learn to say No. The academic equivalent of the guys who want their money rain sleet hail snow is your tenure committee, and what they'll demand, with the same inflexible rigor as a Columbian drug cartel, is a good publication record.

Being a huge fan of Biggie, it just felt natural for Ho-Shing to create this homage to him. And Ho-Shing has actually written an even larger, more comprehensive manual called Creating Dramatic Portraits with Off-Camera Flash, a step-by-step guide to off-camera flash. Those who wish to expand beyond the three flash commandments will find it to be an indispensable guide.

Does it apply to Legit business? This rule varies from one stakeholder to the other in my opinion. For your competitors, it makes all the sense to keep your cards close to our chest. That is why Apple spends great deal of money shrouding from competitors and in fact the public in general details of their next product launch. The iphone 4s released last year is a typical example. Everyone got it wrong predicting an iphone 5. This keeps your business ahead of competition especially if it is in a highly competitive industry. However, from a marketing perspective, it is often a selling point letting your customers or consumers know about the next product. That is why, years before Wizkid released his much acclaimed album, artiste like El Dee, Banky W etc had him featured on their albums, videos and ushered him on loads of promotional tours.

Does this apply to legit business? This again varies and depends on the sort of business you are into. But looking at the perspective Biggie was coming from help limit our comparison. He opined that indulging in the same habits that ensure your customers patronize you will lead to your ultimate destruction. You cannot to be selling drugs and using it as well. Drawing from this, we can employ it to legitimate businesses such as owning a bar or restaurant or into esoteric products. You do not want to be seen tipsy or drunk in your bar. If you are in the liquor business, you also do not want to be addicted to drinking champagne, spirits and all the premium drinks that you sell. Within this context, it will be fair to say Biggie was once again spot on.

Does this apply to legit business? Yet again, this falls into the same category as rule 4. It has to be looked at in a limited context. If you live in a neighborhood where people like to eat a lot of sea food, surely it makes sense to own a fish pond. But then assuming you supply alcohol and cigarettes to clubs restaurants, bars would you want to live beside these businesses? I think not. What if you legitimately sell guns and other warfare equipments, will you want to sell them to your neighbors? I think not. So within the context Biggie is once again right, this can be applied to some businesses just apply rightly.

Does this apply to legit business? Well this is debatable as most businesses only thrive on their ability to extend credit. However, Biggie meant selling it to people with delinquent characters who are never in the right frame of mind to repay. In that light, would you want to keep giving credit to a regular defaulter? I think not exceed you want to face bankruptcy. This surely applies to legit businesses

Does this apply to legit business? This is by far the most important rule for start-ups yet like Biggie said this is highly underrated. Most businesses, for emotional reasons end up selling goods and services to family members and indeed close friends at huge discounts, on credit and sometimes foe free. This is by far the easiest way to destroy a business. This surely applies

Interpretation: If you do not have ready-made buyers for your crack then you are advised not to collect then from your suppliers. Reason is they will want their money whether or not you sell.

Does this apply to legit business? This is tricky but lets look at it holistically. If you get a loan from a bank to finance a purchase of items which you intend to resell it is expected that you pay back the loan whether or not you sell the goods. Simply put, people who lend you money want their money back with interest whether or not you succeed with your investments. In fact this applies to most businesses. Nobody wants stories.

Again another on point article Dre..Its draws a comparison that most people seldom do. I listen to that song for motivation especially when I'm working on a deal or closing one..Never let em know ur next move is one of my favourite commandments. It ensures the integrity of ur operation.Even most IPO's r kept quiet till the very final stages. Dre keep it up, as I've said before, if Ugometrics was a daily paper I would buy it..

The Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Ten Crack Commandments' is a raw and unfiltered guide to the street-level drug trade, presented through a series of rules that serve as a survival manual for hustlers. The song is a testament to Biggie's storytelling prowess and his deep understanding of the harsh realities of street life. Each commandment is a piece of advice aimed at ensuring the longevity and safety of those involved in the illicit drug business, reflecting the artist's own experiences and observations.

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