Released: September 23, 2002
Songwriter: Hill, Inc. Nas
Producer: Hill, Inc.
[Intro]
Light it, uhh
Light it up, uhh
[Verse 1]
The whole city is mine, prettiest Don
I don't like the way P. Diddy did Shyne with different lawyers
Why it's mentioned in my rhymes? Fuck it
It's just an intro, hate it or love it, like it, bump it or dump it
Write it, across the stomach spell "God son"
Life is like a jungle, black, it's like the habitat of Tarzan
Matter of fact, it's harder than most can imagine
Most of my niggas packed in correctional facilities
Half of them passed on, MAC strong, couple of shots
Made the ghost leave a body, now they hauntin' the block
Where they used to stand at, somebody's takin' they place
A younger man perhaps, hand slaps, can't understand that
Same walk, same talk, I wonder can that be possible?
A thug dies, another step inside his shoes
And they will hurt you, layin' low with a bottle
I'm blowin' circles, my state of mind purple
[Break]
Light it, light it, uhh
Yeah… light it up
Light it up, uhh
[Verse 2]
Y'all just wanna deal with drama
Talk about niggas who got things, y'all ready to kill his mama
Everything you into is underworld related
You sell your man out, not even your girl is sacred
You don't trust a soul, hold up, you moldin' soldiers
To pull guns quick and always look behind the shoulder
Think of how many dudes died tryna be down with you
Everybody's under six feet of ground, but you
Still standin', still roamin' through the streets, that's real
You a survivor, knowin' all the beef is ill
You got a bunch of thugs with you even now that's ready
Trustin' your judgment, quick to put it down, they deadly
The hood love you, but behind your back, they pray for the day
A bullet hit your heart and ambulances take you away
That ain't love, it's hate, think of all the mothers at wakes
Whose sons you killed and you ain't got a cut on your face?
Unmarked police cars roam the streets hard, the heat is God
Somebody tell these shorties reach for the stars
Instead they tell 'em how to reach through the bars holdin' a mirror
Lookin' down a tear in jail, makin' weapons to kill ya
Weed smoke, three tokes, nigga, pour more Henny
He sighs with eyes that seen a war too many
Cold-blooded murderers, universal
Hood to hood, blowin' smoke, state of mind is purple
[Break]
Light it up, light it up, light it up, uhh
Light it up… light it up, light it up, uhh
Uhh… uhh, uhh, light it, light it, uhh
[Verse 3]
These hot-headed youngsters always get into trouble
Reactin' before thinkin', they easily irritated
And murder's premeditated, it's a fact that we sinkin'
When we should be climbin', in a nutshell, it's just jail
Drug sales, liquor and diamonds, niggas rewindin'
Instead of movin' forward to blow up, so what's the science?
People shoutin', police pushin' the crowd
And on the ground's a young soldier with meat hangin' out him
Am I hallucinatin' off the hazin'?
Or did I just see a nigga shoot another nigga's face in?
It's a ugly nation, cops circle the block with mug shots
Photograph pictures of suspect faces
It's usually two or three niggas who innocent
But if they lock the wrong ones up, then someone'll snitch
A divide-and-fall strategy, they aren't fair
I dig in my bag of weed that's covered with orange hair
This Color Purple'll make Whoopi give me the pussy
And Celie, Oprah and Danny Glover gots to feel me
This is how I escape the madness
Too much of anything'll hurt you, so my state of mind's all purple
Light it, uhh
Light it up, uhh
[Verse 1]
The whole city is mine, prettiest Don
I don't like the way P. Diddy did Shyne with different lawyers
Why it's mentioned in my rhymes? Fuck it
It's just an intro, hate it or love it, like it, bump it or dump it
Write it, across the stomach spell "God son"
Life is like a jungle, black, it's like the habitat of Tarzan
Matter of fact, it's harder than most can imagine
Most of my niggas packed in correctional facilities
Half of them passed on, MAC strong, couple of shots
Made the ghost leave a body, now they hauntin' the block
Where they used to stand at, somebody's takin' they place
A younger man perhaps, hand slaps, can't understand that
Same walk, same talk, I wonder can that be possible?
A thug dies, another step inside his shoes
And they will hurt you, layin' low with a bottle
I'm blowin' circles, my state of mind purple
[Break]
Light it, light it, uhh
Yeah… light it up
Light it up, uhh
[Verse 2]
Y'all just wanna deal with drama
Talk about niggas who got things, y'all ready to kill his mama
Everything you into is underworld related
You sell your man out, not even your girl is sacred
You don't trust a soul, hold up, you moldin' soldiers
To pull guns quick and always look behind the shoulder
Think of how many dudes died tryna be down with you
Everybody's under six feet of ground, but you
Still standin', still roamin' through the streets, that's real
You a survivor, knowin' all the beef is ill
You got a bunch of thugs with you even now that's ready
Trustin' your judgment, quick to put it down, they deadly
The hood love you, but behind your back, they pray for the day
A bullet hit your heart and ambulances take you away
That ain't love, it's hate, think of all the mothers at wakes
Whose sons you killed and you ain't got a cut on your face?
Unmarked police cars roam the streets hard, the heat is God
Somebody tell these shorties reach for the stars
Instead they tell 'em how to reach through the bars holdin' a mirror
Lookin' down a tear in jail, makin' weapons to kill ya
Weed smoke, three tokes, nigga, pour more Henny
He sighs with eyes that seen a war too many
Cold-blooded murderers, universal
Hood to hood, blowin' smoke, state of mind is purple
[Break]
Light it up, light it up, light it up, uhh
Light it up… light it up, light it up, uhh
Uhh… uhh, uhh, light it, light it, uhh
[Verse 3]
These hot-headed youngsters always get into trouble
Reactin' before thinkin', they easily irritated
And murder's premeditated, it's a fact that we sinkin'
When we should be climbin', in a nutshell, it's just jail
Drug sales, liquor and diamonds, niggas rewindin'
Instead of movin' forward to blow up, so what's the science?
People shoutin', police pushin' the crowd
And on the ground's a young soldier with meat hangin' out him
Am I hallucinatin' off the hazin'?
Or did I just see a nigga shoot another nigga's face in?
It's a ugly nation, cops circle the block with mug shots
Photograph pictures of suspect faces
It's usually two or three niggas who innocent
But if they lock the wrong ones up, then someone'll snitch
A divide-and-fall strategy, they aren't fair
I dig in my bag of weed that's covered with orange hair
This Color Purple'll make Whoopi give me the pussy
And Celie, Oprah and Danny Glover gots to feel me
This is how I escape the madness
Too much of anything'll hurt you, so my state of mind's all purple
- The Lost Tapes (2002)
- N.Y. State of Mind
- Ether
- Life’s a Bitch
- The World Is Yours
- The Message
- It Ain’t Hard to Tell
- One Love
- If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)
- Represent
- Nas Is Like
- Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)
- Halftime
- One Mic
- Affirmative Action
- Daughters
- Cherry Wine
- I Can
- Made Nas Proud [Let Nas Down Remix]
- EPMD 2
- Hate Me Now
- The Don
- everything
- One Time 4 Your Mind
- Bye Baby