Nas

Released: November 23, 1999

Songwriter: Jeff Porcaro David Paich L.E.S. Nas

Producer: L.E.S.

[Intro]
Uh, it's a new world, it's a new world
It's a new world, it's a new world
Uh, it's a new world, it's a new world

[Verse 1]
Yo, celebrate the new life
New ways to make money
New ways to break dummies
Forge they name and take money
Computers ain't that smart
Whatever man built could be taken apart
Anything new can get old
Like dudes started rockin' platinum, some stopped wearin' gold
Solar-energized rides, no steerin' wheel, tell it how to drive
No propellers in the sky
Airplanes like many rockets
Waitin lists for the rich to get tickets to visit Mars
While the poor people starve, computers takin' over they jobs
A man's forced to live off land
Now it's back to the caveman era
When we made fire, by two sticks rubbin' together
The truth is, many are too scared of new data
America Online, cut off, see you later

[Chorus]
Yo, welcome to the new world, new beginnin'
A new way to play, a new way a livin'
Cash is the past, a new way a spendin'
New life for man, children, and women
Yo, welcome to the new world, new beginnin'
A new way to play, a new way a livin'
Cash is the past, a new way a spendin'
New life for man, children, and women

[Verse 2]
Yo, the new Mike Tyson's Roy Jones
Bill Clinton's the new JFK, without the hole in his dome
The new Don Trump is Bill Gates
Not because his occupation, it's 'cause we respect his cake
And cake mean his stock, net gross
Young kids step it up, go for the most
New cameras in police cars takin' pictures
New hustlas gettin' new street figures
And US embassies overseas
Almost every foreign country's under siege
Covertly startin' wars, CIA, NAVY Seals
Commit larcenies that be worth over mil's
Oil in the earth spills
Girls blow they body up, birth control pills
African's pick diamonds out a dark caves
Then we wear it on our necks just so we can light up the stage

[Chorus]
Yo, welcome to the new world, new beginnin'
A new way to play, a new way a livin'
Cash is the past, a new way a spendin'
New life for man, children, and women

[Verse 3]
Say goodbye to the brainwashed
Say goodbye to the young kids who not smart
Say goodbye to the toasters and Pop-Tarts
Yo, it's real
Swallow a little pill, there's a four-course meal
Say hello to the one world
Say hello to the sky, something's out there watchin' you and I
More enticin' than Star Trek, StarTAC phones
Your genes and DNA is used to make clones
You got CD-Rom, everything operates by computers
Then what happens when circuit breaks?
Y2K's the big scare
Scientists say we ain't prepared
What I feel is contrare
Alexander Graham Bell made telephones, yes
But now we request for your e-mail address
I might be old fashioned, stuck in my ways
But nothin' make me more happier than seein' today

[Chorus]
Yo, welcome to the new world, new beginnin'
A new way to play, a new way a livin'
Cash is the past, a new way a spendin'
New life for man, children, and women

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.

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