Nas

Released: December 19, 2006

Songwriter: Nas L.E.S.

Producer: Alexander “Spanador” Mosley Nas L.E.S.

[Intro: Chrisette Michele]
Hip Hop
It will never die
Hip Hop
It will never, never die

[Verse 1: Nas]
Ghetto nigga strutting, with nothing but dreams in Queens broke
Mac-10s, you can smell the PCP smoke
Melle Mel told it real, in the music he wrote
Those were the days I remember, we used to be close
Then I was nine, coldest winter I remember
Was slipping in December, two feet of snow
Yeah, that's the East Coast, that black ice
Symbolize the rap life, it was slick and smooth
I understood I had to come from the hood
Doing the Pee Wee Herman, the Smurf
Before them phones chirped
The block's drugs flowing, didn't have your own work
You had to have somebody else's, a small chrome on your pelvis
Starter jacket, Blue Georgetown or Green Celtic
Your girl's too expensive, she want shellfish
Red Lobster was popping, standing on that line forever
I wish somebody would step on my Bally leathers
Now it's whatever
Hip Hop's forever
Kept my radio on 98 or BLS
Had a pre-pubescent lyric gift, but niggas never hear me spit
My little brother tried to warn them, I was a tornado coming
He knew from inside like the eye of a storm, and told my pops about it
He gave us tickets to that Wild Style flick
Double Trouble retarded, we was the proudest
I never had a summer job
Sweeping leaves, socks to my knees
Home-made shorts, cut off Lee's
I ain't work a day in my life
Wiping away eraser off the paper, man
I'm just trying to say it right
Big radio, tape's slowing down
Lower the lights go, battery dead
I got to freeze them 'till they're ice cold
In the freezer later, I'm staring at the speaker
Sunk in them 808s deeper, cleaning my sneakers
With the bristles of a toothbrush, soap and water
I let the shoestrings soak in water

[Outro: Nas & Chrisette Michele]
(Live Hip Hop, Live) Ain't got nothing to do with Old School
(Live Hip Hop, Live) New School, Dirty South
(Give Hip Hop, Give) West Coast, East Coast, this about us
(Give Hip Hop, Give) This our thing, you know what I'm saying
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay) This came from the gut, from the blood
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay) From the soul, right here, man
(I Pray Hip Hop, Pray) This is our thing, man
(I Pray Hip Hop, Stays) You know? so I say what I say

(Live Hip Hop, Live) And I say what I say, and I mean it
(Live Hip Hop, Live) Y'all take it how you want to take it
(Give Hip Hop, Give) Because if you asking: "Why is Hip Hop dead?"
(Give Hip Hop, Give) It's a pretty good chance, you the reason it died, man
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay) It's a pretty good, chance your lame ass, corny ass
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay) Is the reason it died, man
(I Pray Hip Hop, Pray) You don't give a fuck about it, you don't know nothing about it
(I Pray Hip Hop, Stays) You want this paper, be a hustler
(Live Hip Hop, Live) You a hustler, you ain't a rapper, get your paper man
(Live Hip Hop, Live) You know what I'm saying, but this rap shit is real
(Give Hip Hop, Give) Bitch, this shit is real: bitch
(Give Hip Hop, Give) *laughs*
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay)
(Live)
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay)
(Live)
(I Pray Hip Hop, Pray)
(Give)
(I Pray Hip Hop, Stays)
(Live Hip Hop, Live)
(Stay)
(Live Hip Hop, Live)
(Give Hip Hop, Give)
(Give Hip Hop, Give)
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay)
(Stay Hip Hop, Stay)
(I Pray Hip Hop, Pray)
(I Pray Hip Hop, Stays)

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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