Released: December 18, 2001

Songwriter: Nas Large Professor

Producer: Large Professor

[Produced by Large Professor]

[Verse 1]
Uh uh, yo
They plan was to knock me out the top of the game
But I overstand they truth is all lame
I hold cannons that shoot balls of flame
Right in they fat mouth then I carve my name
Nas – too real, Nas – true king
It's however you feel, go 'head, you swing
Your arms too short to box with God
I don't kill soloists, only kill squads
Fame went to they head, so now it's "Fuck Nas"
Yesterday you begged for a deal, today you tough guys
I seen it coming
Soon as I popped my first bottle
I spotted my enemies tryna do what I do
Came in with my style, so I fathered you
I kept changing on the world since "... Barbeque"
Now you wanna hang with niggas I hung with
Fuck bitches I hit, it's funny I once said
If I, ever make a record, I take a cheque
And put something away for a rainy day to make my exit
But look at me now, ten years deep
Since the project bench with crack in my sock, asleep
I never asked to be top of rap's elite
Just a ghetto child tryna learn the crafts of the streets
But look at me now

[Chorus: Sugar Man sample]
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man

[Verse 2]
Now wait a sec', give me time to explain, women and fast cars
And diamond rings can poison a rap star
Was suicidal, high, smoking so much lye
I saw a dead bird flying through a broken sky
Wish I could flap wings and fly away
To where black kings in Ghana stay
So I could get old, my flesh rot away
But that'll be the day when it's peace
When my gat don't need to spray
When these streets are safe to play
Sex with death, indulge in these women
Vision my own skeleton swimming in eternal fire
Broads play with pentagrams in they vagina
Like the Exorcist, then they gave birth to my seeds
I beg for God's help, why they love hurting me?
I'm your disciple, a thug certainly
I'm the N, the A to the S-I-R
If I wasn't, I must've been Escobar
.45 in my waist, staring at my reflection
In the mirror, sitting still in the chair like Mike Concepcion
When everything around me got cloudy
The chair became a king's throne, my destiny found me
It was clear why the struggle was so painful
Metamorphosis, this is what I changed to
And God, I'm so thankful

[Chorus: Sugar Man sample]
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man
You're the man, you're the man

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.