Released: December 13, 2002

Featuring: 2Pac J. Phoenix

Songwriter: Johnny J Claudio Cueni Larry Loftin Michael Herring Nas 2Pac

Producer: Michael Herring Claudio Cueni

[Intro: Nas]
I want you to close your eyes
And vision the most beautiful place in the world
If you in the hood on the ghetto street corner
Come on this journey, the best journey
A mansion, acres of land and swimming pools and all that
Check it out

[Verse 1: Nas]
I'm capable of anything, my imagination can give me wings
To fly like doves over the streets, watchin' many things
Kids walkin' home from school on drug blocks
Missionaries pass out papers that read "Love God"
I see faces, cases, judges, and juries, Masons, lawyers and cops
I watch because every thug's face is my mirror
But this was one in particular
This kid, he was the vintage stick 'em up pro
Sixteen years old, did his jail sentence, nowhere to go
Every morning, calls his comrade to come and get him to smoke
He insane, already gone mad blames himself for his setbacks
Dangerous street corners where it sets at
Slang from dust to dawn, detectives act like they maniacs
Chasin' him, his asthma's flarin'
Smokin' like a chimney, on Remy, of course he not carin'
He need a place to go to keep his mind expandin'
I give him a helping hand, bring him out to Thugz Mansion

[Chorus: J. Phoenix]
Every corner, every city
There's a place where life's a little easy
Little Hennessy, laid back and cool
Every hour, 'cause it's all good
Leave all the stress from the world outside
Every wrong done will be alright
Nothing but peace, love, and street passion
Every ghetto needs a thug mansion

[Verse 2: 2Pac]
Dear Mama, don't cry, your baby boy's doin' good
Tell the homies I'm in Heaven and they ain't got hoods
Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night, it had me shook
Drippin' peppermint Schnapps, with Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke
Then some lady named Billie Holiday sang
Sittin' there kickin' it with Malcolm 'til the day came
Little LaTasha sho' grown
Tell the lady in the liquor store that she's forgiven, so come home
Maybe in time you'll understand
Only God can save us, when Miles Davis cuttin' lose with the band
Just think of all the people that you knew in the past
That passed on, they in Heaven, found peace at last
Picture a place that they exist, together
There has to be a place better than this, in Heaven
So right before I sleep, dear God, what I'm askin'
Remember this face, save me a place in Thugz Mansion

[Chorus: J. Phoenix]
Every corner, every city
There's a place where life's a little easy
Little Hennessy, laid back and cool
Every hour, 'cause it's all good
Leave all the stress from the world outside
Every wrong done will be alright
Nothing but peace, love, and street passion
Every ghetto needs a thug mansion

[Verse 3: Nas]
A place where death doesn't reside, just thugs who collide
Not to start beef but spark trees, no cops rollin' by
No policemen, no homicide, no chalk on the streets
No reason for nobody's momma to cry
See, I'm a good guy, I'm tryin' to stick around for my daughter
But if I should die, I know all of my albums support her
This whole year's been crazy, asked the Holy Spirit to save me
Only difference from me and Ossie Davis, gray hair maybe
'Cause I feel like my eyes saw too much sufferin'
I'm just twenty-some-odd years
I done lost my mother and I cried tears of joy
I know she smiles on her boy
I dream of you more, my love goes to Afeni Shakur
'Cause like Ann Jones, she raised a ghetto king in a war
And just for that alone she shouldn't feel no pain no more
'Cause one day we'll all be together, sippin' heavenly champagne
Where angels soar with golden wings in Thugz Mansion

[Chorus: J. Phoenix]
Every corner, every city
There's a place where life's a little easy
Little Hennessy, laid back and cool
Every hour, 'cause it's all good
Leave all the stress from the world outside
Every wrong done will be alright
Nothing but peace, love, and street passion
Every ghetto needs a thug mansion

Nas

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.