Released: July 17, 2012

Featuring: Victoria Monét

Songwriter: TBHits Eric B. Michael Claxton Rakim Victoria Monét Buckwild Nas

Producer: Buckwild

[Produced by Buckwild]

[Intro: Nas]
Yeah, Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn

[Verse 1: Nas]
Let's make a bet, I know the reason you ain't make it yet
Your stage was set, but you ain't see the tedious ingredients
That go inside of a rider, you hiding from problems and
You never knew how to make dollars
You couldn't make orders at a drive-through McDonald's
I was fly at the Apollo with Black Jason, '89 with a bottle
Niggas jealous of Jason, dark green seven forty, no tint
Rollie on wrist, gleaming, he rock the baldy
Used to ride with him to Brooklyn, Lewis and Halsey
Cop chocolate Thai, Vernon style and burn it down
My nigga Hype in the federal joint, verdict out
Twenty years getting money in the Dirty South
That's alleged, you see my nigga's a stand up dude
So I'm yelling, "Free my nigga!"
My nephew godfather Malik, he jammed up too
For what his hands usually call for, but he ain't do it

[Chorus: Victoria Monét]
Who you are ain't in the recipe of what I am
'Cause where I'm from
Man, what I see, you wouldn't understand
Where I been and what I do
No matter how you try you never can
'Cause where I'm from
And what I see, you wouldn't understand
Where I been, where I been

[Verse 2: Nas]
You ever been on the other end of a robber's revolver?
Not me, call me Lucky Nas Castellana
Or been shot in the medulla oblongata
And survived and praise God with a bullet I never collided
Some did and they lived, I salute the Gods
Moët spilling, splashed by mistake on my Timb boots for y'all
N.Y. nigga, Adidas, jogging suit
Shell toes, slim, fly nigga
Hudson River, rent a boat, t-shirt with a dinner coat
A vintage Fila like I'm the ghost of Domencio
On any day getting throat in a tinted vehicle
Like a old BK gangsta, but I'm the CEO
Of Nasty Nas Enterprises, mastermind, made men
My success symbolizes loyalty, great friends
Dedication, hard work, routine builds character
In a world full of snakes, rats and scavengers
Never make choices out of desperation, I think through it
Break through walls like Pink Floyd
And drink fluids, of all kind of alcohol, y'all
Vineyards in France, yachts out in Cannes

[Chorus: Victoria Monét]
Who you are ain't in the recipe of what I am
'Cause where I'm from
Man, what I see, you wouldn't understand
Where I been and what I do
No matter how you try you never can
'Cause where I'm from
And what I see, you wouldn't understand
Where I been, where I been

[Verse 3: Nas]
Now holla at a millionaire
Rollie, Hublot and Audemar, deciding which one to wear
Who to screw, what to drive
550 with the cream guts inside
Or the Super Sport Range truck is fly
Diamond ring on my knuckles, like fire, bitch
Gats on us, I don't really trust these guys
Spend a couple bucks a night on bottles on cuties
If she beautiful, the lustful type, I'll hit it and bust inside
Fuck it, I'ma die one day
They gon' probably make that day a holiday
Until then, let's go on a shopping spree
Speaking for my real niggas
Only OGs, certified who kill niggas
When put in that seat, but tonight we on chill, nigga
Chill mode, spill more Spades
Listen to Yeezy and Hov, some Rozay
It's like we always on the grind with no brakes
So tonight we gon' act like we on vacation with this on rotation

[Chorus: Victoria Monét (Nas)]
Who you are ain't in the recipe of what I am (word)
'Cause where I'm from (yeah)
Man, what I see you wouldn't understand
Where I been and what I do
(Y'all wouldn't understand, huh)
No matter how you try you never can
(You wouldn't last a day in my shoes, homie)
'Cause where I'm from (yeah)
And what I see, you wouldn't understand
Where I been, where I been

[Outro: Nas]
True B nigga, yeah, uhh
For my hood niggas, yeah, yeah
To my man Eric B, what up, yeah
The whole city, I see you
To my man Big Slate in the Fed joint
My man Spunk, free my niggas
All my niggas, yeah
Club Vernon, I see you, I see you, yeah
And Baltum, I see you

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.