Nas

Released: July 17, 2012

Songwriter: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Nas

Producer: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League

[Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League]

[Intro]
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League

[Verse 1]
PS 111 had free lunch
Embarrassed but managed to get a plate...
We was kids hungry
Mom's working, I was famished
She getting home late...
So I decided now I'm in charge
Either stay full or starve
Corner store like "Mister, spare-a-quarter"
Before Air Jordans, Kareem Abdul-Jabbars
Trying to cop quarters and trying to move that hard
Roll with a shooting squad
How could I not succumb? How could I not partake?
Fifteen, I got a gun
Sixteen, I robbed a train
Licked off a shot for fun
What's got inside my brain?
A hustler's job ain't done, til he becomes a king
But I'm a righteous son, despite I'm in the midst of
Dudes who switch up and change
They wanna carry me like I'm some kind of lame
I never let them though, I just forgive them though
Either that or the pistol blow

[Break: sample]
"Say YEAH! Haha, thank ya! Ahhh, Hallelujah!
Y'all don't hear me now! Somebody help me!"

[Verse 2]
I remember early mornings, syrup sandwiches, sugar water, yeah
Walking up the dark stairwells, elevators was out of order, yeah
Worth two hundred million now
Bicentennial nigga, flat screens and condominiums
Brazilian women on Xannies they pulling off panties
I'm pushing forty, she only twenty-one
Don't applaud me, I'm exhausted G
Me and my red cup, my blunt and my red cup
Y'all wouldn't know me without one, I keep a fresh cut
Remember talking to Biggie inside his Lex truck
Said stay fly when you bummy, keep your pajamas Armani
Hood forever, I just act like I'm civilized
Really what's in my mind is organizing a billion Black motherfuckers
To take over J.P. and Morgan, Goldman and Sachs
And teach the world facts and give Saudi they oil back

[Break: sample]
"Say YEAH! Haha, thank ya! Ahhh, Hallelujah!
Y'all don't hear me now! Somebody help me!"

[Verse 3]
1990's Polo Ralph Lauren on him
Gone a few years, the whole world snoring on him
Girls all up on him
I spread em, hit 'em and dead 'em
She says, third leg from a legend is sheer heaven
She says, it is the greatest loving
The tales you hear is the truth on me
Who wasn't the most faithful husband
Reveal my life, you will forgive me
You will love me, hate me, judge me, relate to me
Only a few will, this how it sounds when you're too real
They think it's just music still
Well I am a graphic classic song composer
Music notes on sheets, I wrote this piece to get closure
Some of y'all might know Kelis, this goes to her with love
Also goes to y'all, let's see
The craziest things already happened to me
So either you'll be laughing at me or you're laughing with me, ha

[Break: sample]
"Say YEAH! Haha, thank ya! Ahhh, Hallelujah!
Y'all don't hear me now! Somebody help me!"

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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