Released: January 27, 1998

Featuring: Nature Nas

Songwriter: Poke N.O.R.E. Nature Tone Nas

Producer: Poke

Intro: Noreaga talking

[Noreaga]

Yo, New Orleans, La, Va to Queens, I-95, where we never drive clean
But good, gotta get out the hood, to really make it, now we cake it
Until our whole team'll take it to another level, another Rolie wit
Another bezel, like war against God against another devil
Sustainin', now we're in Moschino, niggas say we changed it, switched it
Now it's Cristal, instead of Mistic, Jose, catch me wit a pigeon and
A gold biscuit, gettin mad lifted, let me find out, it's sellin dimes
Out my crack house, yeah that's crashed out, let me catch that
Just like Stackhouse, kick ya back out, have you mad vexed
Like you did your whole bid, but didn't max out, yo Jose is
In other words courageous, from South Carolina to D.C
Yo the NC, hit Atlanta like Montana, comin out the airport wit the hammer
Motherfucker, smoke more weed than Chris Tucker, in Friday
When he treated Worm like a sucker, in three ways
Let's sell a whole ki' in three days
The way I know the crack game'll have you amazed
In the ill days, yo I drink leche, Jose, so shake your culo, like Merengue
Salsa arroz con pollo, grand royale in Ohio, Cincinnati, Minnesoto
Yo from Philly to Connecticut, got niggas settin in, all predicate
Like this rap game is pregnant, N-O-R-E, Nore
Stand for Niggas On the Run Eatin, no matter if they still cheatin'
The object of the game is just to stay leavin', hit me on the Nokio
Let me know if you still breathin, top grenade, ice it up, cop pies, slice it
Up
You really think you nice enough, fuck around wit twice your luck
Even seekin scrolls until your world fall in, to my niggas gettin they props
Where they supposed to've been, don't rush, take your time
The best come to those who wait, like Heinz, they be ketchup and spoil your cake
Aiyyo it's I-95, wit my niggas lost faith, wha!

Chorus 2x: Nas (Noreaga)
Blood money (That's what this life lead to)
Blood money (That's how my niggas bleed to)
Blood money (That's what we smoke weed to)
Blood money (That's how my niggas eat to)

[Nature]

Aiyyo, eatin from the same plate, and drinkin from the same cup
Whoever thought that so much would have to change up
I went to games as a Knicks fan, they had Strickland, they traded him
Ever since then, son, I hated them, shit's turning sour in the N-Y
Half the team hurt, still niggas get high and rock Queens shirts
Fiends on the block know me for holdin b's work
Seein chips ,poppin up in European whips, exceed the speed limit
Tinted up and weed scented, treatin life like the auto bomb, never slow up
I'm gettin head for being young and vulgar, fly and gifted
Y'all niggas die over bitch shit, I got some hoes in the law gettin high
Like Rik Smits, born hypocrite, every now and then be on some different shit
Switch directions, my bag - quick deception
My first love is for bloody money so skip the extras

Chorus

[Nas]

Now what's a don?, a nigga that's a thug wit a charm, always on point
As soon as he's on, his goons'll respond, he move right and fear losin his
Life
Mad dimes, but never could fit the shoes of his wife
You could tell by the finger nails, clean, hair diced up, every four days
A weekly routine, where he lived, stay out the hood, fuck what a nigga say
Out for blood, but yo, lustin the dough, he see snake smile for way
In the same garden he play, but a true don'll get his proper groove on
He tell the truth even when he lies, give you a fake name
Even though his name is Nas, god body, in a wide body, bubble the Five
To the S-Class, six niggas, double your size, either come wit a plan
To make it happen, cuz sellin weight or rap pin
We still trapped in a slave mind
That keep the crackers laughin
(That's what this life lead to)
Chorus

N.O.R.E.

Queens rapper Noreaga (also known as N.O.R.E.) was one of the most distinctive voices of the late ’90s hardcore hip-hop scene. He found critical and commercial success, both as a member of the duo Capone-N-Noreaga and as a solo artist, well into the 2000s.

Born Victor Santiago, Jr., to a Puerto Rican father and black mother, N.O.R.E. was raised in the Lefrak City housing projects in Queens, New York. In the early ’90s, while serving a sentence for attempted murder at the Green Haven Correctional Facility, he befriended Queensbridge native Capone. Once released, the two began rapping together under the mentorship of Juice Crew veteran Tragedy Khadafi, appearing in The Source Magazine’s “Unsigned Hype” column in 1995.

The duo attracted widespread attention in 1996 with the release of the single “L.A., L.A..” The song—a response to Tha Dogg Pound’s “New York, New York”—is considered a key record in the infamous East Coast/West Coast battle. Only 18 at the time, Noreaga’s unorthodox style of rapping immediately stood out. VIBE Magazine described his flow as “staggered, high-pitched parrot riffs.” The Source called it “word association-style poetics.” Capone-N-Noreaga’s debut The War Report was released by Penalty/Warner in June 1997 to critical acclaim.