Nas

Songwriter: Chucky Thompson Nas

Producer: Jack White

[Verse]
Yo, all I need is one mic‚ one beat‚ one stage
One person front‚ face on the front page
Only if I had one gun, one girl and one crib
One God to show me how to do things his son did
Pure, like a cup of virgin blood
Mixed with 151‚ one sip probably'll make me flip
Write my name on my hollow tips, plottin' shit
Mad violence, who I'm gon' body? This hood politics
Acknowledge it‚ leave bodies chopped up in garbages
Seeds watch us, grow up, try to follow us
Police watch us, roll up, try knockin' us
One knee I ducked, could it be my time is up?
But my luck, I got up, the cop shot again
Bus stop, glass burst, a fiend drops his Heineken
Ricochetin' between the spots that I'm hidin' in
Blackin' out as I shoot back—fuck gettin' hit!
This is my hood, I'ma rep to the death of it
'Til everybody come home, little niggas is grown
Hoodrats, don't abortion your womb
We need more warriors soon
Sent from the stars, sun and the moon
In this life of police chases, street sweepers, coppers
Stick-up kids with no conscience, leavin' victims with doctors
If you really think you ready to die
This is what Nas is 'bout

[Chorus]
Yo, all I need is one mic
All I need is one mic

[Verse 2]
All I need is one blunt, one page, one pen
One prayer, tell God forgive me for one sin
Matter of fact, more than one
Look back at all the hatred against me—fuck all of them!
Jesus died at age 33, 33 shots
From twin Glocks, there's 16 apiece, that's 32
Which means one of my guns was holdin' 17
27 hit your crew, six went into you
Everybody gotta die sometime
Hope your funeral never gets shot up
?? through the innocent
Nothin' is fair, my heart is racin'
Tastin' revenge in the air
I let this shit slide for too many years
Strapped up, too many MACs, too many 9s
If y'all niggas really with me, get busy, load up the semis
Do more than just hold it, explode the clip until it's empty
There's nothin' in our way: they bust, we bust, they rush, we rush
Lead flyin', feel it? I feel it in my gut
That we take these bitches to war, lie 'em down
'Cause we stronger now, the time is now!

[Chorus]
I need one mic
All I need is one mic

[Verse 3]
All I need is one life, one try, one breath, and one man
What I stand for speaks for itself, they don't understand
Don't wanna see me on top, too egotistical
Talkin' all that slick shit the same way these bitches do
Wonder what my secrets is
Niggas'll move on you only if they know what your weakness is
I have none, too late to grab guns
I'm blastin' ‘cause I'm a cool nigga
Thought I wouldn't have your ass done? Fooled you niggas

[Chorus]
I need one mic
All I need is one mic
All I need is one mic
All I need is one mic

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known to one and all as Nas, is one of hip-hop’s best-known, most mercurial, and lyrically blessed figures ever to touch the microphone. Since his heart-stopping debut turn on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbeque,” Nas has delivered countless beautifully structured, thought-provoking, keenly observed verses.

Growing up in Queens, NY, Nas never really performed in big crowds—he kept to himself. Nas used a different type of vernacular that others didn’t understand, which helped him to stand out from other rappers from his era.

With every ensuing album, Nas always reminds fans that he’s still the same Queensbridge MC who crafted one of the greatest albums of all time, and arguably the bible of Hip-Hop, Illmatic.

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