Released: November 26, 1996

Featuring: R. Kelly

Songwriter: David A. Stewart Nas R. Kelly Tone Annie Lennox

Producer: R. Kelly Trackmasters

[Intro: Nas]
Yo, this remix goes out to everybody out there
That call theyself "keepin' it real"
From yours truly, Escobar and Big R
From New York to Chi-Town
Check it out now
Commissioner Steve Stoute
Trackmasters, QB, check it, yo

[Verse 1: Nas]
Low profile, rap style slick as Nu Nile
Give the crew pounds every time we cover new ground
Still survivin', but there's a few down back in the essence
I'm askin' questions on the phone with jail adolescents
Quiet confession, the system's applyin' the pressure
My mind is guessin', is livin' and dyin' a lesson?
But not to be obliged with the mirage of cars
Take me off track from what the Gods focus on hard
Laid up, smokin' cigars, motionin' maids
To bring me toast and eggs kosher
Ice chokers and wolves to smoke ya
My wisdom culture lives in ultra madness
Devoted Coach bag bitch
Broke, the average nigga's hopes to get mad rich
But what's the purpose?
Only the Gods can watch the Earth twist
I'm physically trapped down on the surface
With all the crack merchants, snakes and serpents
Foul jakes that search us
Clowns with four pounds, this ain't a circus

[Chorus: R. Kelly]
Street dreamer (Oh, mercy, mercy me)
Ain't nothin' out there for ya
(There ain't nothin' out there for you)
Situation's gettin' heavy
Heavy, heavy, tryin' to be a gangsta

[Verse 2: Nas]
Word up
Black clouds over the hood, I'm on the corner with the thugs
Late night under the Moon as they assume I'm slangin' drugs
'Cause I'm hooded up, thought a G a night wasn't good enough
Pushed my luck, yo, they had a brother put in cuffs
Luckily, made it out of court comfortably
Judge said I need a job, ain't nothin' comin' free
Could've got a one-to-three
I try to school these shorties under me
But they can't see, from life to death
So now we back to where we never left
The ghetto – it's a damn shame, knowin' it's a man's game
Shorty thinks it's time to make your plans change
All that runnin' round, tryin' to chase what's already here
Been there, it's goin' nowhere
Pops told me knuckle up, no fear
I wish some of these killings they could be prevented
Whatever happens, it was written, meaning God meant it
But during life, you put your heart in it
Even though it seems we bein' targeted
Let that brother R hit it

[Chorus: R. Kelly]
Street dreamer (Oh, mercy, mercy me)
Ain't nothin' out there for ya
(There ain't nothin' out there for you)
Situation's gettin' heavy
Heavy, heavy, tryin' to be a gangsta

[Bridge: R. Kelly]
Dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on
Street dreamer, yeah
Street dreamer, dream on
Dream on

[Verse 3: Nas & (R. Kelly)]
Sort of wild; since a child, hope was all we had
Dreamt of plushed-out pads
Complainin', the mental strainin'
How many in my crew was into gainin'?
Subtract the weak links up out the chain and
Rise and start reignin'
Blasphemy, usin' Nas' name in vain
Some claim supreme being, yet they lied in his name
I tried to learn the game and only thing I found incredible
Everything I tried to learn, see, I already knew (That's right)
And it's embedded in my heart now
So I could sit back, count a stack, and play my part now
I saw my life flash in front of my eyes, He wore disguise
Put a gun to me, hungry, he went on to chastise
That's Nas, ain't it? Made it rich from entertainment
Fresh Wally's painted, as he told the kid he came with
My first thought was: "How the game flip?"
Yo, perhaps it was somebody I smacked drunk in a party on 'gac
Or was I marked for a contract for some foul act I did a while back
Or even beyond that
He got me layin' face flat, sayin' my grace, Black
Woke up in a cold sweat, yo, I hate that
Nightmares feelin' real, word to Will
My A-Alike I lost in the battlefield
That's why I hit the mic with mad appeal
Grab your shield and meet your maker
The Queens niggas die for paper
Deed the things, the street dreams will take ya

[Chorus: R. Kelly]
Street dreamer (Oh, mercy, mercy me)
Ain't nothin' out there for ya
(There ain't nothin' out there for you)
Situation's gettin' heavy
Heavy, heavy, tryin' to be a gangsta
Street dreamer (Oh, mercy, mercy me)
Ain't nothin' out there for ya
(There ain't nothin' out there for you)
Situation's gettin' heavy
Heavy, heavy, tryin' to be a gangsta
Street dreamer (Oh, mercy, mercy me)
Ain't nothin' out there for ya
(There ain't nothin' out there for you)
Situation's gettin' heavy
Heavy, heavy, tryin' to be a gangsta

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.