Nas

Released: November 23, 1999

Songwriter: Jessica Care Moore Rich Nice

Producer: Nas Rich Nice

[Rich Nice]
What's happening brothers and sisters?
Welcome to our time

[Jessica Care Moore]
Afro-Angels hide my weapons in tangles
Black Star Spangled, fragile like hematite with the East oils I write
Despite the lack of sunlight, got my battle boots tight
Now that the government's gone, can't tell your left from your right
Winged assassins laughin while the New World's collapsing
Mother Earth's ribs crashed in, armed with cowries, I'm blasting
As the Earth rebels my womb swells
The birth of Black Magic, savin my people force of habit
You can't find if you ain't never had it
Spiritually crafted black-listed hair-twisted ghetto embargo lifted
Power-shifting comb-fisting I predict Goddesses you running after witches
I kiss my fourteen stitches
Keep all my baby girl wishes
I predict all the oceans turn dry
Not one baby girl will cry as you attempt to grow broccoli from the desert
We will take our pregnant bodies, drink from underground rivers
Wash your face between our legs
While recreating humanity, we will summon yemanja
Search for our fertility, ban all pink and yellow pills
Ban all pink and yellow pills
I predict killing fields of ghetto armpatch anti-Hatch
Hate groups will be bombed
Childbirth becomes outlawed
Always will be branded numbered and logged
All paper money is gone
Confused scholars can't interpret our scrolls
Your sky has holes
We know the young is old
Nastradamus tell us how the story gets told

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.

more tracks from the album

Nastradamus

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Nastradamus (1999)

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Nastradamus