"Do Or Die"

"Whatcha gone do bruh? It in your lap now!"

Back in 1996 some cats I knew from the west side of Chicago released a rap single called Po Pimp! My guy Johnny P. completely rocked the hook on that joint,  "Do you wanna ride in the back seat of a Caddy and chop it up wit Do or Die?" and my boy Twista baptized it! At that time we all were hustlin' to make it in the music business. I had just won BET's national rap contest CatchWreck '95 the summer before and had released my first joint Hip Hop 101. They called me "Hook" because I was born with only one full arm! It was crunch time for everybody and Do or Die decided to sell that joint out of their trunk and got rid of more than 60,000 units it. They signed with Rap-O-Lot Records, it blew up and the rest is history. As for me? I was blessed to rock with everybody in the business at that time. I got close but it just didn't happen so today you're reading one of my Hot Joints! That's how it goes sometimes bruh!

Well it's Do or Die for either Boston or Miami tonight in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Somebody's got to lose! Who's it gonna be? All the pressure is on LeBron and the Miami Heat. Why? Because they are the cats that were expected to get to and win the Finals when the season started. Let's keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! LeBron is my guy and ya'll know I ride hard for him but he stuck his hand in the hornets nest and pissed them off when he said, "Not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7!" Now let's keep it real, he was young and got caught up in the hype, but he said it though. All he had to do was say that they we're going to play hard and their goal is to try to win a title.

If he'd just done that everything would have been cool. The Cleveland fans would have been upset but who cares about the X-girlfriend! She's always gonna be mad especially if you broke up with her. That's the way it goes. However, the rest of the world that wants to see him lose is dialed in because he threw it not only in the other teams faces but the fans too. You can't bypass the natural order of doing things. Vince Lombardi once said, The only place Success comes before Work is in the dictionary!"

My guy KG said shortly after being traded to Boston, "We're gonna be who we are and let it be what it's gonna be!" He didn't promise anything. He just went to work and people respected it. The word of God even says, "Do not brag on tomorrow, for you do not know what the day will bring." Proverbs 27:1

I'm not crazy, I know what it is, but it just blows my mind that people would put so much energy into wanting to see someone fail. However, Big Momma always said, "You gotta treat folks right baby! That could have been Jesus out there knocking on your door!" So LeBron has bought it; the red suit, hat and gators bruh! Now he's got to wear it. I'm one of the biggest talkers you're ever going to meet. That's why I love KG some much. While competing you've got to have that killer instinct and you've got to defer to no one when everything is on the line.

Ya Boy in the day! 

That's where boyz have a problem with LeBron especially real cats. You have to be selfish in the last minute or two of the game. If you're the best player on the planet then cats want to see you take over. It's just that simple. If you're the neighborhood hustla you can't let boyz take advantage of you in a crunch. Otherwise, you're out of the game real fast!

 We finally saw him do that in Game 6 and he took over from the opening tip. He finally figured out that it's all on him and that they'll win or lose based on what he does or does not do. It's not Wade County bruh!  It's called LEBRON, USA!

So if he's gonna take all of the "Heat" then he should take all of the shots when necessary, in my opinion! The word defer at this point shouldn't even be in his vocabulary going forward. Playing team basketball no longer makes sense for the rest of his career. Pass that joint only when the game isn't on the line. Otherwise, everybody in the building should know who's gonna take the shot.

When I was 15 years old my dad gave me some sound advice. He told me to NEVER put your future into someone else's hands! LeBron obviously didn't get that joint growing up. So you can have it now bruh! If you gotta be a jerk to win from now on be a jerk. Just don't promise success! The ole school version is, "Don't talk about it, be about it!" Now let me ask you, "Do you wanna ride in the back seat of a Caddy?" Cuz it's Game 7 and  it's Do or Die bruh! Do like my man Twista says in the that joint, "Spit mo GAME than a mouth full of pocka chips!" and you'll be alright!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport