Released: August 6, 2021

Featuring: Lauryn Hill

Songwriter: Nas Lauryn Hill Joshua Strange Corbett Hit-Boy

Producer: Corbett Hit-Boy

[Intro]
(Hit-Boy)

[Chorus: Nas]
One city, one country, one state
Some place to be nobody
Some place to be
Some place you wouldn't know probably
Yeah, yeah

[Verse 1: Nas]
If Chappelle moved to Ghana to find his peace then I'm rollin'
Where the service always roamin', I'm packin' my bags and goin'
It's a challenge in that, it's a balancin' act
Visit beautiful places there's more out here than the trap
Houses in Long Island, they always found 'em
House in the South, a nigga barely got out
Sunny L.A., remеmber calls with Dr. Dre
He told mе, "Don't let the palm trees fool you, nigga, be safe"
Me and my higher self, we often would speak
Somehow we lost the connection, might meet at Joshua Tree
And it's been bothering me, too many wavy women
Gotta log outta IG, can't be my age DM'in' (Haha)
No kiddin', it's hard to move like a civilian
I write the truth 'cause I live it, not like you musical niggas
We did it big and they bigots, they'd rather shoot than write tickets
What it feel like to go get it? What it feel like to go miss it?

[Chorus: Nas]
In one city, one country, one state
Some place to be nobody
Some place to be
Some place you wouldn't know probably
Some place to be nobody

[Verse 2: Nas]
My dawg bought a plane, said "Let's go to Paris"
That's where baguettes are from, French bread that's long and narrow
I like the other definition, rectangular carats
The concept of this song is rather esoteric
This girl said in Grenada we should go get married
Broke the meanin' down of the Virgin Mary
And you got your own place, my favorite part of the night
When you text me that you made it home safe (I'm home)
I'm contemplatin' at the homebase
How I'm used to breakfast in the ghetto sippin' OJ
That's a picture right there, a moment in time
Before anybody wanted a photo of mine
Before the internet energy and social decline
Destroyed the vibe, foolin' us with the headlines
(Keepin' us blind) Vultures eat you alive
(Take heed to the signs) Wishin' I'd find

[Chorus: Nas]
One city, one country, one state
Some place to be nobody
Some place to be
Some place you wouldn't know probably
Some place to be nobody (Life)

[Verse 3: Lauryn Hill]
All my time has been focused on more freedom now
Why would I join 'em when I know that I can beat 'em now?
They put their words on me, and they can eat 'em now
That's probably why they keep on tellin' me I'm needed now
They tried to box me out while takin' what they want from me
I spent too many years livin' too uncomfortably
Making room for people who didn't like the labor
But wanted the spoils, greedy, selfish behavior
Now let me give it to you balanced and with clarity
I don't need to turn myself into a parody
I don't, I don't do the shit you do for popularity
They clearly didn't understand when I said "I Get Out" apparently
My awareness like Keanu in The Matrix
I'm savin' souls and y'all complainin' 'bout my lateness
Now it's illegal for someone to walk in greatness
They want the same shh, but they don't take risks
Now the world will get to see its own reflection
And the anointed can pursue their own direction
And if you're wrong and you're too proud to hear correction
Walk into the hole you dug yourself, fuck a projection
See me in my freedom takin' all my land back
They said a lot against me thinkin' I'd just stand back
I got my legs beneath me, I got my hands back
A lot of people sabotaged, they couldn't stand that
I turned the other cheek, I took blow after blow
There's so much crisis in the world 'cause you reap what you sow
When you keep what you know is meant for someone else
The ditch you dig for them, you might just end up in yourself
I'm in the secret place, I keep a sacred space
They keep showin' their hands, but keep hidin' their face
If I'm a messenger, you block me then you block the message
So aggressive, the world you made is what you're left with
Pride and ego over love and truth is fuckin' reckless
Y'all niggas got a death wish, the stupid leaves me breathless

[Outro: Nas]
Some place to be, yeah
Ain't duckin' nothin'
Just might have to build my own city
Where y'all need a real nigga passport to enter
Ms. Hill, we ain't goin' nowhere
They gon' have to deal with us
Make 'em uncomfortable, hahaha, yeah

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.