DISSNATION
Verified archive entry

I’m Your Pusher

By Ice-T · Targeting LL Cool J

I’m Your Pusher is a diss track by Ice-T targeting LL Cool J. Ice-T and LL Cool J traded competitive barbs during the late 1980s. Ice-T used LL's records, romantic persona and claims to rap supremacy as material, sometimes naming him and sometimes parodying the kind of love-song image associated with him.

Released1988
Annotated1
ExplicitYes
Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

Demo lines only. Select a line number to copy a stable deep link.

  1. 01

    [Intro]

    02

    Yo, what's up man, I need to get high, man

    03

    I need to get hold of some big time dope, man

    04

    You know where I can get a ki?

    05

    I know where you can get a LP

  2. 06

    LP, man? Have you went crazy, man?

    07

    I'm talking about some dope, man

    08

    I need to get high right now, man

    09

    Why don't you hook me up with a 5-O?

  3. 10

    I can hook you up with a 12 inch

    11

    12 inch? Man, you done went crazy?

    12

    You don't even know what time it is

    13

    Out here on the streets and don't know what time it is

  4. 14

    Man, you's a fool

    15

    Yo, homeboy, you a fool

    16

    You don't know what time it is out here, messing up your mind

    17

    You know what I'm sayin'?

  5. 18

    This is Ice-T talkin' to you, boy

    19

    I'ma tell you what time it is

  6. 20

    [Verse 1]

    21

    Yo, it's time for me to up pump the volume

    22

    No problem, the record's revolvin'

    23

    Evil's the mixer, I'm the rap trickster

    24

    Paparazzis on the bum rush for pictures

  7. 25

    Ice, coolin', yo, colder than ever

    26

    Punk executioner E, pull the lever

    27

    Rotate the wax then cut and axe the tracks

    28

    Push up the levels 'til the red lights max

  8. 29

    Don't try to size up, you better wise up

    30

    To the rap criminals, we're on the rise up

    31

    We’re selling dope 'til we succeeded

    32

    Dope beats and lyrics, no beepers needed

  9. 33

    For this drug deal, I'm the big wheel

    34

    The dope I'm sellin', you don't smoke, you feel

    35

    Out on the dance floor, on my world tour

    36

    I'm sellin' dope in each and every record store

  10. 37

    I'm the kingpin when the wax spins

    38

    Crack or smack will take you to a sure end

    39

    You don't need it, just throw that stuff away

    40

    You wanna get high? Let the record play

  11. 41

    [Interlude]

    42

    Aw man, I like this dope here, man

    43

    It's feelin' alright, boy

    44

    What you say your name was, man?

  12. 45

    [Chorus]

    46

    I'm your mama, I'm your daddy

    47

    I'm that nigga in the alley

    48

    I'm your brother when you need

    49

    A true player to emcee

  13. 50

    You know me, I'm your friend

    51

    Your main boy, thick and thin

    52

    MC Ice-T

    53

    I'm your pusher

  14. 54

    [Verse 2]

    55

    I know you're lovin' this drug as it's comin' out your speakers

    56

    Bass through the bottoms, highs through the tweeters

    57

    But this base you don't need a pipe

    58

    Just a tempo to keep your hype

  15. 59

    Groovin' like I see you doin'

    60

    Some stupid crack would just ruin

    61

    Your natural high, why? That ain't fly

    62

    And anyone who says it is lies

  16. 63

    Move like I knew you would, like I knew you could

    64

    And if you ain't cracked out, then I know you should

    65

    Be able to give me a clap, to match exact with the track

    66

    And since I know you ain't, I expect that

  17. 67

    Oh, now this jam is lit, it's like the ultimate

    68

    People high off dope but still physically fit

    69

    I make a million bucks, pack my dough in trucks

    70

    From sellin' dope beats, dope rhymes, dope cuts

  18. 71

    I'll be the biggest dope dealer in history

    72

    'Cause all the fly will be high off that Ice-T

  19. 73

    [Interlude]

    74

    Aw man, you ain't never lie, man

    75

    This dope is alright, man

    76

    I got to get back with you, man

    77

    Let me get your number, man

  20. 78

    [Chorus]

    79

    I'm your mama, I'm your daddy

    80

    I'm that nigga in the alley

    81

    I'm your brother when you need

    82

    A true player to emcee

  21. 83

    You know me, I'm your friend

    84

    Your main boy, thick and thin

    85

    MC Ice-T

    86

    I'm your pusher

  22. 87

    [Verse 3]

    88

    I bring it to boil, Evil E rock it up

    89

    You want in? I don't think you got enough

    90

    Last suckers crossed, Syndicate shot 'em up

    91

    Cops found 'em in the lake bottom up

  23. 92

    I don't play when it comes to my dope

    93

    I check my lyrics close, like with a microscope

    94

    I don't clean 'em up with no Ivory soap

    95

    I leave 'em hard and pure, hope that you can cope

  24. 96

    'Cause you might O.D. if you overdrive

    97

    This record, tape or CD, because the sound I've

    98

    Created on this wax is like a chemical

    99

    And the knowledge I give makes me invincible

  25. 100

    [Interlude]

    101

    Aw, Mr. Dopeman, I'm lovin' you, man

    102

    You got it goin' on, man

    103

    What else you got?

    104

    I got some of that Kool Moe Dee

  26. 105

    Aw yeah, man, I want some of that, man

    106

    Got some Doug E. Fresh

    107

    Aw, gimme an ounce of that, man

    108

    I want that all night long

  27. 109

    Got some Eric B. & Rakim

    Multi-line diss block
    110

    Aw, that is some real dope right there

    111

    Got some of that LL Cool J

    112

    Nah, nah, man, I don't want none of that, man

    Block noteMakes LL the one record the customer rejects

    TargetLL Cool J

    MeaningWhat it means: The drug-customer skit eagerly accepts Eric B. & Rakim, Kool Moe Dee and other rap ‘product,’ but refuses LL Cool J as soon as his name is offered. Why it was said: The whole song treats records as doses sold by Ice-T; placing LL alone in the reject pile turns consumer preference into the diss and suggests that LL's music cannot produce the high supplied by respected peers.

    WordplayThe extended dealer metaphor makes each artist's music a different drug. ‘I don't want none of that’ works simultaneously as a refusal of the offered dose and a dismissal of LL's catalogue.

    ContextIce-T and LL Cool J traded competitive barbs during the late 1980s. Ice-T used LL's records, romantic persona and claims to rap supremacy as material, sometimes naming him and sometimes parodying the kind of love-song image associated with him.

  28. 113

    You can keep that, man

    114

    Got some Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One

    115

    Aw, now you're talkin', man, come on

    116

    Public Enemy

  29. 117

    Yeah, don't stop, don't stop

    118

    Biz Markie

    119

    Makin' music with yo' mouth Biz, I love it

  30. 120

    [Chorus]

    121

    I'm your mama, I'm your daddy

    122

    I'm that nigga in the alley

    123

    I'm your brother when you need

    124

    A true player to emcee

  31. 125

    You know me, I'm your friend

    126

    Your main boy, thick and thin

    127

    MC Ice-T

    128

    I'm your pusher

  32. 129

    [Verse 4]

    130

    The cops just don't know what to do because my dope breaks through

    131

    No matter what they do, my stuff gets to you

    132

    Kickin' on the Boulevard, my tempo's hyped and hard

    133

    I don't ask, the ICE just bogards

  33. 134

    Sire Records puts me out, with Warner Brothers clout

    135

    My dope hits the streets with no doubt

    136

    Evil E adds the cut, then removes it

    137

    Is' checks for purity, and then approves it

  34. 138

    And then you get it, try it and like it

    139

    And if it ain't potent, we remix it and spike it

    140

    To bring you the pure dope, not a noose in a rope

    141

    'Cause if you're doin' crack, you're on death row

  35. 142

    You're just a toy punk to mess with that junk

    143

    You want some real dope, come look in my trunk

    144

    The dope I'm sellin' is life, a hundred percent legit

    145

    So get real, fool, and try some real hit

  36. 146

    [Interlude]

    147

    Word up, my brother, you got me high as a kite

    148

    I feel good tonight

    149

    Ice-T, man, you alright

  37. 150

    [Chorus]

    151

    I'm your mama, I'm your daddy

    152

    I'm that nigga in the alley

    153

    I'm your brother when you need

    154

    A true player to emcee

  38. 155

    You know me, I'm your friend

    156

    Your main boy, thick and thin

    157

    MC Ice-T

    158

    I'm your pusher

  39. 159

    I'm your pusher