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  Release Date: July 25, 2006
  Website: Dead Prez Website
  Label: Affluent Records

Dead Prez & Outlawz “Can’t Sell Dope Forever” Album Review
Hip-Hop music has always been filled with drug references. Many hip-hop stars are admitted former drug dealers. Even more have seen the effects the drug game has had on family, friends and communities. And yes, some even glorify this association. But more and more, I find rappers encouraging their listeners to get out of the drug game. The recent collaboration between Dead Prez and the Outlawz, titled “Can’t Sell Dope Forever,” is one such album.

However, Dead Prez and the Outlawz seem to take a more productive and encouraging viewpoint on the future possibilities for former drug dealers. While society seems trained to believe that drug dealers are criminals that are both beyond rehabilitation and incapable of making a positive contribution to life, Dead Prez and the Outlawz disagree. Throughout this album, they consistently reiterate a belief in some kind of entrepreneurial spirit among street hustlers which can be used successfully in legal and more positive pursuits. This viewpoint can be seen in their interview with Soundslam, during which stic.man of Dead Prez commented on the meaning of “Can’t Sell Dope Forever”:

“What we are saying is to be independent, be an entrepreneur. It’s the spirit of being a hustler that’s a good part and the point. You got the drive, you have the organization to have workers on the street, you have vision, you have financial choices you’re making, investments, taking risks … all of that is part of being a man and being a grown woman and being in charge of taking care of your responsibilities. But on some real shit, if you weigh the risks versus the advantages, there are many other options that you have.”

This point of view makes a lot of sense to me, because as horrible as this may sound, I believe that dealing drugs can teach a person a lot about business, money and hard work.

Hip-Hop & The Drug Game 
Back in 2000, I graduated from college and moved out to Colorado. Looking back, I can honestly say that, with the exception of writing for the university newspaper, I learned nothing in college that prepared me for life in the real world. I had no experience, no real qualifications, and couldn’t find a job outside of waiting tables for my first two years out of school. I worked at a restaurant forty hours a week, yet barely made rent every month.

Serving tables is the easiest way to realize how cheap most people are. I hate motherfuckers that don’t tip well. Most people don’t realize that waiters don’t get paychecks. Nah, the IRS takes all that. They make only what you tip them. And fifteen percent is not the recommended tip percentage. It is the minimum. If your waitress is a bitch, brings all the wrong food, and spills soup on your girl . then you tip her fifteen percent. Otherwise, give up a little cash you cheap motherfuckers. If you can’t afford to tip well, don’t go out to eat.

Working as a waiter will also teach you a lot about the youth of our country; most namely that all kids do is drink and get high when they’re not working. And somebody is always looking for marijuana. Luckily, one of my doggs was a pothead, and bought chronic in large quantities. Some of that good shit, too . weed that was apparently grown in Vancouver, backpacked across the Canadian border to Portland, and driven through Boulder before hitting the city. No stems, no seeds, no sticks . some of that real sticky-icky-icky. Ooooh weee. Put it in the air.

In any case, since I was broke, unable to get quality employment and desperately in need of extra money, I talked my pothead friend into fronting me a bag of weed . nothing big, just one ounce of pot for the pay-me-when-you-can price of $300. My plan was to divide it up into eighths, which sell in Colorado for $50 a piece. In just a couple days, I sold eight bags and collected $400, a profit of $100. I continued doing this weekly for a couple months.

As hoards of pothead waiters and their friends spread the word about that good Canadian bud, I found myself needing more and more. Instead of buying ounces, I started picking up four ounces at a time, a quarter pound of weed, which is affectionately referred to on the street as a “QP.” Since I was buying larger quantities, the price went down and I was paying $250 an ounce instead of $300. This allowed me to charge $45 instead of $50 for every eighth, and a lot of price conscious shoppers started coming my way.

The next logical step was to pick up an entire pound of weed, an act that would bring my cost down to the point where I could double profits. However, I decided against it after watching a couple episodes of Oz. A pound of weed is something you go to prison over. I ain’t never going to prison dogg. I’m not that big and can’t really fight. I’d be somebody’s bitch if I was in prison, and I ain’t having that. So I just maintained my QPs and put a little money aside.

Supply and Demand
All of a sudden, I started to see things a little clearer. Basically, since I was buying in larger quantities, my dealer was more willing to sell to me for prices that were below the market value. This increased purchasing power allowed me to push the discount on to my customers. The lower prices then caused an increase in demand, as people were buying everything up trying to take advantage of the sale. And increased demand in turn created the need for a larger supply. Lower cost equals higher profit. I don’t know about you, but from my perspective this is a perfect modern day example of the laws of supply and demand in today’s economy.

I often flash back to taking the only required economics class in college. The instructor was a grad student, barely spoke English, and severely failed in teaching us anything. Everyone passed thanks only to a handful of student complaints and a generous curve. Meanwhile, just a couple months of selling dime bags to the local restaurateurs and their employees allowed me to experience real life economics in practice. I found myself becoming more business minded, aggressive and entrepreneurial. Within a year, I was able to secure a real job and permanently gave up the nickel and dime drug game.

So what am I saying? Well it’s not to sell drugs, because you will go to prison for that shit. And a bitch is a bitch is a bitch, from what I hear. But if selling drugs is what you do, you should make an attempt to use the skills, work ethic and business sense you’ve gained from dealing to do something legit. As sad as this may sound, I don’t know where I’d be in my career without the economic principles and business savvy I learned in my short time selling marijuana. Unlike whatever I may have learned in college, I continue to use those skills daily.

Big ups to Dead Prez and the Outlawz for having the courage to speak the truth while encouraging constructive behavior. You can’t sell dope forever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. Peace.