“Just To Get a Rep” was the first single from Gang Starr’s sophomore album, Step In the Arena. Similar to the Boogie Down Productions track “Love’s Gonna Get'cha,” “Just to Get a Rep” tells a story of a shorty who gets into crime within his urban environment. DJ Premier utilizes a sample from Jean-Jacques Perry’s “E.V.A.” while pairing it with a Greg Nice line from Nice & Smooth’s “Funky For You” and another line Grand Master Chilly-T & Stevie G’s “Rock the Message Rap” for the hook.

DJ Premier gave some background information about the song:

This record was based on a robbery, which happened to Guru. He got stuck up for a brand new car he had. We just got our deal, he bought a 4Runner, and I bought an MPV. He went over to Bedstuy with some of his people, and some cats were eyeing him during the day. Later on that night, Guru went to the same spot by himself, so the same guys ran up on him, and got him and took the car. Couple days later, we see the car, so we run up on and chased the guy, which caused the cops to jump in, and they started chasing us. Then the dude who stole the car gets hit by an ice cream truck and dies. The video was a little reenactment, but that was a true story. It’s sad he had to die like that, but that’s part karma and things like that can happen.