He burst onto the scene heralded as the Second Coming of Rakim, a street’s disciple anointed hip-hop’s chosen one, an MC destined for greatness.
Nas, of course, proved to be mere mortal, a godly lyricist from the Queensbridge projects who flirted with mass appeal with mixed results: recording numerous hits and selling millions of albums while also going through a Jekyll and Hyde period, seeing his supergroup, The Firm, fail to live up to expectations and getting into squabbles with some of his rapping friends.
But the entire transformation from Nasty Nas to Escobar to Nastradamus back to Nas only strengthened one of the most respected rap artists in the game, someone who even at his lowest creative point has always been far above the average rapper.
His determination to be recognized as the best MC dead or alive motivated him through arguably hip-hop’s most epic verbal war (which the public declared he won), and his fearless opinions and ideas have caused controversy in an age when not much is shocking anymore.
Nas has a new album with DJ Premier in the works. And has been part of the news cycle again due to comments from Jim Jones. So it’s a good time to rank the 100 best Nas songs of all time.
(This story was originally published in 2011)
Produced By: Salaam Remi
Album: God’s Son
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Nas is for the children. At least he is on the ebony-and-ivory-tickling “I Can,” edutainment for the (Sesame) streets that, not surprisingly, gained wide appeal (use of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” and the kiddie chant-a-long chorus probably helped) and is among the most successful of his singles.
In the song, he addresses underprivileged youth with encouragement (“You can host the TV like Oprah Winfrey”), history lessons (“It was empires in Africa called Kush/Timbuktu where every race came to get books”) and the dangers of growing up too fast (“As cute as can be up in the club with fake ID/Careful ‘fore you meet a man with HIV”). “Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes/Read more, learn more, change the globe,” he continues, pushing knowledge like a drug dealer pushing weight. (BTW, who knew that the “Impeach the President” drums could still sound so fresh in ’02?)
Produced By: Ez Elpee
Album: Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB’s Finest
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Even when he was Nasty Nas, he never got this nasty. You don’t expect the Street’s Disciple on a record this raunchy, but you probably shouldn’t be surprised since at 12 he “went to hell for snuffin’ Jesus.” Apparently, the Bravehearts do not go to parties, but rather rap orgies. This sleazy chickenhead anthem, um, climaxed, if you will, with bodyguard Horse (who infamously paraphrases Biggie at the start of his verse) tearing the walls down with “Like Nia Long in a cherry thong with the lights on/Sippin’ Perignon with Kelly Price on/I pull out my python, I hit it while my wife’s gone/Long-dick the bitch all night, I’ll make her pussy sing the song.” Now what’s fucking with that?
Produced By: No I.D.
Album: Magic
Label: Mass Appeal
Though Nas raps his ass off on the No I.D.-produced Magic standout cut “Meet Joe Black,” the one thing that stands out the most about the track is that the duo decided to include a Soulja Boy rant during the song’s outro.
Two years after Nas dropped Hip-Hop Is Dead, Soulja claimed that Nas, in fact, killed rap, and though the Queensbridge star is widely celebrated as perhaps the best living rapper on Earth, it’s nice to know that over a decade later he was still haunted by a taunt from the “Crank Dat” rapper. If nothing else, “Meet Joe Black” proves that despite being preternaturally gifted on the mic, Nas is as petty as the rest of us. —Will Schube
Produced By: No I.D.
Album: Life Is Good
Label: Def Jam
On “Loco-Motive,” Nas once again reunites with his mentor Extra P. The two always had a certain magic together, and it’s a great tragedy they haven’t collaborated more than they already have. On the track itself, Nas admits to losing paper, but really it doesn’t matter. God’s son only needs one mic and his words ring through on here as much as they ever did, “So much to write and say, yo I don’t know where to start/So I’ll begin with the basics and flow from the heart.”
The song isn’t too specific, it’s mostly just Nas flowing in an almost stream of consciousness but he was always the kind of guy you could just hear flow forever. Even though they call out the “trapped in the ’90s niggas,” this is vintage Nasir.
Produced By: N/A
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
The intro will sound mad familiar to you, the busy drum ‘n’ piano will make you wish Kool G Rap rhymed next, but most of all, “Just Another Day in the Projects” will make you motherfuckin’ happy. That’s because you’ll get to hear a teenage Nas with a thin trace of ’89 flavor to his style, sounding way more influenced by G Rap than Rakim. It’s a Nas still growing into his own rappin’ skin, but doing so rapidly: “We attack cops for props/I got sons with guns/They all done crimes/They so wild they even scare my ass sometimes.” It might be just another day in the PJs, but this is not just another MC.
Produced By: Hit-Boy, Audio Anthem
Album: King’s Disease
Label: Mass Appeal
On “Ultra Black,” the lead single from Nas’ Grammy winning album, the MC aimed to create a celebration of Black art and culture. He widely succeeds here, though he managed to stir up some serious controversy with a line towards the end of the first verse. “Cash Money with the white tee and the soldier rag/ We goin’ ultra black, unapologetically black/ The opposite of Doja Cat, Michael Blackson black.”
Doja, predictably, didn’t take kindly to the perceived slight and what was meant to be the kick off to Nas’ return to the throne was instead a social media kerfuffle that led him to backtrack the bar. During a Power 106 interview, he admitted that he was just trying to come up with a rhyme, saying, “I just was really saying a rhyme that rhymed with ‘Ultra Black’.” Whoops. —Will Schube
Produced By: N/A
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
“Peace to my seed and thanks for her birth,” says Nas, “Destiny, that’s her name.” The shout-out from the brand new dad makes one believe this unfinished joint (with its ringing, lush sound by an uncredited producer) is from (most likely) 1994. Displaying “smooth criminal skill locked in a human flesh shield,” Nas is basically playing around, getting an initial feel of the amazing track. “On the freestyle tip/When I finish this shit/It’s sure to be a hit/Peace…” That he never went back to finish (or if he did and the finalized version was never released) feels like a crap-out, for real. It would have been great.
Produced By: Large Professor/Large Professor
Album: 1st Class/N/A
Label: Matador/N/A
“Stay Chisel” means to be sharp whether it’s lookin’ fly or watchin’ your back. Bringin’ the “Lou Ferigno, Arnold Schwarzenegger–type steelo,” Nas got brolic thoughts galore enforced by a stupendous Large Pro creation, a victorious, atmospheric joint that’s downright inspirational, which is perfect for Nasir’s wisdom work-out plan:
“Mental calisthenics got my mind stretching, then I release it
Have my whole frame bulgin’ under diamond pieces
Take the weight of the world on my shoulders, I hold it
So I consume most the pain for my niggas that I roll with
‘Cause see the streets ain’t no Gold’s Gym, papi
And if I feel it going down then my niggas’ll spot me
Without the mind, the body weight don’t even mean nothing
Let’s take three brothers and put them in the bing or something
Who’s gonna survive, the wise man, the fool or the warrior?
Well, if all of their minds are chisel, then all of them.”
There are two versions of this powerful cut: a version with Nas rhyming three verses for dolo, and the shorter version that appeared on Large Pro’s album in which Extra P also kicks a verse.
Produced By: Salaam Remi
Album: Untitled
Label: Def Jam
Hip-hop might be dead, but the protest song is not…at least not yet. The super-cool sounds of “You Can’t Stop Us Now” may recall the late ’60s and early ’70s, but the stir-it-up message is made for today. Right on.
Produced By: DJ Scratch, Music Man Ty
Album: Poison
Label: Epic
“Echo” may be a Swizz Beatz track but both artists know the song is all about Nasty Nas. There’s the intro, which features Swizz asking for a cheers to the MC, followed by a hysterical “woo!”
Then, there’s Nas’ first verse, which features a truly amazing opening run of lines. Nas’ brilliance lies in moments like these, unexpectedly excellent guest features that remind his audience why, even 25 years into his career, few are nicer with the pen than he is. Just take a look at this: “Throwin’ piss out the window at police/ Chasin’ n*ggas with warrants/ There was never no peace/ Judy’s ass was enormous.” Has there ever been a better non sequitur? Shout out Judy. —Will Schube
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: Magic
Label: Mass Appeal
In terms of modern era Nas, “Wave Gods” is about as good as it gets. He marries the generation older and generation younger, linking up A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier in this nod to another New York legend, Max B (the true Wave God).
The song is a golden era throwback, but with enough juice to make it more than a nostalgic throwback. With lines like “Me and Hit-Boy they say we like the new Gang Starr,” and “Me and Flacko they say we the new Wave Gods/ Shout out to Max B he could be home any day,” Nas marries multiple generations of New York rap. It’s an easy going tribute to rap’s original mecca, with Nas honoring its history while asserting himself somewhere near its center. Plus, you can never go wrong by including Preemo in the proceedings. —Will Schube
Produced By: Marley Marl, L.E.S.
Album: Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB Finest
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
A landmark showing of unity was on full display with the phenomenally strong cast that gathered to remake MC Shan and Marley Marl’s impactful “The Bridge,” the nickname given to the Queensbridge Houses, the largest PJs in North America and a breeding ground for hip-hop talent.
Although many of the participants had had some sort of misunderstanding with each other in the past, that was all put aside as Nas, Mobb Deep, Capone, Nature, Cormega, Tragedy Khadafi, and Millennium Thug formed like Voltron over L.E.S.’s thugged-up power boost of the O.G. track. Nas closes the show, spitting rapidly (and subliminally dissing the Roc), but Mega Montana sums up the shared sentiment of what makes the place where stars are born so great: “Yo, it ain’t just the music, group aspirations or ghetto illusions/It’s the product, east side, and all the beautiful children/And unleashed dreams comin’ through each building.”
Produced By: Hit-Boy
Album: King’s Disease III
Label: Mass Appeal
While I don’t really ever want to hear anyone utter the words “eardrums de-virginized,” Nas somehow manages to make it work on this King’s Disease III tribute to two all-time musicians: Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.
Drawing a parallel between the two icons and his work with Hit-Boy is an audacious claim, but who else in rap is worthy of an MJ comparison than Nas? He doesn’t have the commercial gravitas, but on a skill level, the MC is as close as they come. He suggests as much when he spits: “Like young Quincy Jones, stuck outside the club/ Until Ray Charles snuck him in, ah, to be young again/ But right now, it’s like I got the power of a hundred men/ Nas and Hit like Michael and Quincy on the run again.” —Will Schube
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
Is this what a Reasonable Doubt Nas collabo would have sounded like? Could this have been the record that changed hip-hop history, diverting one of the longest feuds rap has seen? Who knows. All we know is that this is actually a Shaquille O’Neal joint(!) called “No Love Lost,” featuring Jay-Z and Lord Tariq, Cory Gunz’s pop’s main man from back in the day.
Somebody (possibly the Trackmasters, who worked closely with Nas at the time) edited out Big Shaq and either got Nas to spit a new verse or synched a previously unheard Nas verse off the bench to create a bootleg piece of vinyl renamed “Analyze This.” After careful analysis, we can safely claim it’s pretty damn good.
Produced By: Agile, Saukrates
Album: God’s Son
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Amidst his vast catalog of material there are tracks not instantly recognizable that nevertheless are worthy of attention. Cuts like “Heaven,” for instance, which contains some of Nas’ most biting social criticism, taking on religion in a manner he rarely has in the past: “Preachers touching on altar boys/Sodomizing/Not realizing God is watching/Before the Lord how can they do the devil’s work?/A man giving another man head in church/Hell, it hurts just to fathom the thought, wishing that I fled the Earth.” But it doesn’t mean he’s lost faith, as the rest of the lyrics challenge listeners to seek the good in life.
Produced By: Hit-Boy, Eminem
Album: King’s Disease II
Label: Mass Appeal
Nas is a student of the game, a historian, as much as he is one of its key players. It’s on tracks like “EPMD 2” where he showcases his breadth of knowledge, paying homage to one of the best—and underrated—rap duo’s in NYC history, EPMD.
Not only does he name the track after them and give them a shoutout during his first verse (“Bucket on low like Erick and Parrish”), but he gives them room to flex, and the duo don’t waste a moment. Come for the nasty, minimal beat, stay for EPMD talking shit on Mike Pence. “Piece of shit, fly on your hеad like Mike Pence’s, we in the trenches.” Pretty, pretty good. —Will Schube
Produced By: Stephen Marley
Album: Road to Zion
Label: Universal
The haunting “Road to Zion” was the first step taken by Damien Marley and Nas on their sonic journey together. It was clear from the start that they were going to use their unified voice to spread the much-needed word that shit has to change. Nas does his best to rally the troops: “And I’m guilty for materialism/Blacks is still up in the prison, trust that/So save me your sorries, I’m raisin an army/Revolutionary warfare with Damian Marley/We sparkin’ an iron, marchin’ to Zion/You know how Nas be, NYC state of mind I’m in.”
Who knows if the revolution will come—but just know it has a soundtrack.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
There exists some debate as to when this song was written. It’s main focus is chronicling the ups and downs of the treacherous music industry, but it also offers insight into the creation of the controversial Escobar character, which, as we all know, was based on the dead Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar.
Although there are unanswered questions, like how much of what’s depicted is truth and not fiction, this sparkling track still shines like a starry-filled night (with well-used, cut-up Slick Rick “The Moment I Feared” samples for the chorus). As Nas recounts, his financial problems started early on: “Three Gs worth of chronic a week/Promoters was mad, I stopped doing shows to spend my time on the street/Loot declined, eventually sold in my shine/Repo looking for my Lex… Pistol in my car, full clip/I read about Pablo Escobar and got on some shit/So-called man supplied all my chips/I was frontin’/Niggas thought I was rich and got mad ‘cause they was pumpin.'”
Produced By: Hit-Boy
Album: Magic
Label: Mass Appeal
Magic appeared as, well, a bit of magic, a surprise release that came just a day after Nas announced it. Its opening track, “Speechless,” finds the MC in media res, taking stock of his life, in awe that he’s come this far and still making quality rap music.
The song functions as a tour of his musical life, a walk down memory lane and a scene setting track that highlights some of his best attributes on the mic. He begins: “I’m twenty-one years past the 27 Club/ It’s like I went back into my past and then I sped it up/ Robert Johnson, Winehouse and Morrison found where Heaven was.” Nas, though, suggests he has made heaven on Earth with his music. It’s hard to disagree. —Will Schube
Produced By: Just Blaze
Album: Doctor’s Advocate
Label: Geffen
A thoughtful reflection on settling differences and focusing on things that matter the most—living the best life you can—The Game (as expected) spends a lot of time name-dropping rap icons, but his intentions are good, as is the celebratory Just Blaze track.
Nas manages to drop the old joke, “Pro-black, I don’t pick cotton out an aspirin bottle,” before speaking on the importance of doing for self: “I can show ‘em the water, but can’t make ‘em drink it/And I can show them my fortunes, but can’t force ‘em to think rich.” The Game and Nas would reunite two years later on the thoughtful MLK tribute “Letter to the King” for L.A.X., giving the unlikely duo three really good collabos together under their belt, including “Hustlers” from Hip-Hop Is Dead.
Produced By: L.E.S.
Album: Street’s Disciple
Label: Sony
Although it was the third single from Street’s Disciple, the introspective “Just a Moment,” dedicated to those who have fallen or were locked up, was penned years earlier by one-time Nas protégé rapper-singer Quan while he himself was imprisoned. The composition pulsates with so much genuine meaning that Nas couldn’t resist jumping on the heartfelt track, making sure to recognize the street soldiers no longer living, the troops in Iraq, and his departed mother.
Produced By: RZA
Album: The W
Label: Loud
“Handle your bid and kill no kids,” yells Raekwon the Chef on the somber chorus to “Let My Niggas Live.” The Wu comeback after a three-year gap between group albums was, overall, a defiant statement that Wu-Tang didn’t have to follow trends—they were the trendsetters. Moving with the knowledgeable finesse of seasoned veterans (the bottom-heavy bass on “Let” stubbornly rambles like a slow-paced shot-caller who walks with a limp), the Clan was a unit comfortable in their own skin, ready to do their own thing and say fuck what anybody else thinks.
Rae and Deck rep for the crew (when haven’t they?), while sandwiched in the lineup is the other Escobar, who gives us a clear look at his, some would say, conflicting (though fascinating) persona in the booth, describing himself in polar opposites: “I’m God Son, son of man, son of Marcus Garvey/Rastafari irie, Haile Selassie,” he says early on, and then describes himself at the end as “the animal that Hugh Hefner created/The only nigga Sade dated, the most-hated.”
Produced By: Salaam Remi
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Whew!
Nas runs down a long list of society’s ills—everything from drugs to schools, the medical industry, religion to STDs—and explains how it’s all poison. Just as bad as the chemicals in our food and air, though, is mental poison: “Sisters up in my hood… up late night on they mother’s cordless/Thinking a perm or bleaching cream will make them better when they gorgeous/White girls tanning, liposuction/Fake titties are implanted, fake lips, that’s life destruction.”
But Nas is aiming the scope at everything, so his colleagues are not spared: “Rappers only talk about ki’s, it’s all poison/How could you call yourself MCs? You ain’t, poison/Think about the kids you mislead with the poison/And any thoughts of taking me down is all poison.” The last verse, though, is the most memorable, with Nas telling the tale of Ike with the Iverson Jersey (also referenced by Game on “Runnin'”), who gave girls herpes and got AIDS from one in return. Poison.
Produced By: Buckwild
Album: Street’s Disciple
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Supposedly, this was gonna be called “Coon’s Picnic.” Well, the much nicer title, “These Are Our Heroes,” (and the catchy beat) is the only nice thing about this unashamed call-out of “sell-outs.” Sure, he might sound kinda friendly, but the sarcastic Nas holds nothing back with his opinions about black celebrities who are not true to the game. He calls out OJ and Cuba Gooding Jr. (kinda expected) and even Tiger Woods.
But saves most of the wrath for Kobe Bryant and the Colorado incident: “Uh, let’s call him Tobe/First he played his life cool just like Michael/Now he rock ice, too, just like I do/Yo, you can’t do better than that?/The hotel clerk who adjusts the bathroom mat?/Now you lose sponsorships that you thought had your back/Yeah, you beat the rap, jiggaboo/Fake nigga you/You turn around then you shit on Shaq/Who woulda knew, Mr. Goodie-Two-Shoes?/He love a little butt crack, got enough cash/Little kids with they bus pass who look up to you/To do something for the youth, stupid spoof/But you let them use you as an example.”
Album: Life Is Good
Producer: No I.D.
Label: Def Jam
Nas continued his evolution as a songwriter on Life Is Good, and penned a radio and street-friendly anthem for the fathers out there with daughters, rapping about his own experiences raising his teenage daughter Destiny. From her writing letters to a male friend in jail to her posting a picture of a box of condoms on Instagram, no subject is left untouched. This was Nas letting his guard down, and showing an honest side of parenthood that is rarely heard on hip-hop records, and for that, we praise him. The No I.D. beat was fantastic, too.
Produced By: L.E.S./”Hate Me Now” 12″ B-Side
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
This is not a 50 Cent diss. Released in ’99, it is an irresistible tabloid story about Brazilian Candy, a chick who’d make Bobby divorce Whitney, whom Nas meets at a Super Bowl party. What happens next would spoil the fun if you’ve never heard this one before. The number of plot twists under three minutes and the ending make this one of Nas’ most underrated story raps.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Intended for the proposed autobiographical double LP I Am…, songs like “Fetus” were taken off the reduced final version because of leaks. Told through the eyes of an embryonic Nas, the song pulls you in right from the opening lines: “I existed in the womb, just like an abyss/Came from behind the sun, my hands balled in a fist/Punchin’ my mom’s stomach, kickin’ on her cervix/Twitchin’ ‘cause I’m nervous.” During the ensuing months as he waits to be born, he copes with his parents fighting and wonders what his life will be like. Nas is living proof that rap can be so much more.
Produced By: Alchemist
Album: God’s Son
Label: Columbia
The concept and execution of “Book of Rhymes” is on point like cold nipples—nah, that was weak. Start over. “Book of Rhymes,” with a banging Alchemist track, gives a great glimpse into the craft of writing, which often has plenty of false starts, rewrites, and super-critical self-analysis. That we can hear Nas dig through boxes of old notepads (the sound of crinkling paper is a neat trick) and hear his thoughts about his writing is like being in the studio with him.
Whether or not you agree with his criticism about the snippets he presents on the song, the words at the very end rate as some of the most uniquely honest material the rap world has seen: “I’m jealous of you, how come you so beautiful?/Smelling fresh, youthful, intelligent while I’m stressin’ and shit/Ayo, I envy you ‘cause all you do is smile and things come your way/Such a innocent child is what some say/I get upset ‘cause I just want to be treated the way you are/Like a star not a worry in this world thus far/But wait a minute, we both need your mother’s attention/I must be crazy, jealous of my own baby infant.”
Produced By: Ski
Album: Don Cartagena
Label: Atlantic
The roster is full of legitimate heavyweights of the rap game (figuratively and literally), and the beat is over 400 degrees fire, so stay away if you can’t deal with the heat. But even as the temperature keeps rising, these are some cool motherfuckers, as demonstrated by Don Cartegena’s mobster M.O. when he threatens to “discuss your death over shrimp and lobster.”
This is also the cut where the late Big Pun kicked the Spanglish line (“You ain’t even en mi clasa“) Nas would later quote on “Made You Look.”
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: Foxy Brown “I’ll Be” 12″ B-Side
Label: Aftermath
How this incredible song didn’t make the album is still mind-boggling, especially since it embodies so well what The Firm was trying to go for, a sinister rap mob fam with global connections, at ease on exotic vacations or in the thick of hectic ‘hoods. This is another indication that The Firm album should have been better. Two versions of this exist in cyberspace: The only difference is the dialog at the start, the order of rhymes and that Nature replaces Cormega’s verse (although the voice at the start states that both Nature and Cormega are in The Firm).
Produced By: Poke
Album: Ride Soundtrack
Label: Tommy Boy
Wicked rhymes and a wild sitar easing down a slithery path are the main push to the sometimes overlooked second installment in the “Blood Money” series. There’s also the kind of eyebrow-raising random thoughts that make listening to lots of hip-hop so enjoyable, like when Nore reveals his love for “leche,” or when Nature confesses, “I went to games as a Knicks fan/They had Strickland/They traded him/Ever since then I hated them.”
Nas gets his Tony Montana on, giving you the true definition of a don: “He tell the truth even when he lies/Give you a fake name even though his name is Nas.” Spoken like a G.
Produced By: Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie (Kanye West)
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Nas recounts the rocky relationship his parents had in a honest dedication to his old man: a jazz player, a rolling stone. The love is there despite the man’s faults. Nas crafts a full picture of the past, looking at the infidelity and fights from both parents’ perspectives. He doesn’t choose sides and understands that’s the way it is sometimes.
And, of course, he appreciates his father helping to raise him for as long as he was there: “Before he left, he taught me something/A child’s young years, the most important time to be there/That’s why he stayed till we grew up, respect is still here/I’m older now, see what having a father’s about/One day they can be in your life, next day they be out/It’s not because of you, you know the deal/Him and your moms feel/If they stay together, then someone will get killed/I love you still/Always will.” The smooth, soulful composition, credited to Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, captain of Bad Boy’s Hit Men squad, was actually produced by a young Kanye.
Produced By: Larry Gates
Album: In Too Deep Soundtrack
Label: Columbia
Nas had a small acting role as a drug dealer who goes hand-to-hand on the corner in the undercover-cop drama In Too Deep, starring Omar Epps and LL Cool J. Nature joins in on the film’s title track, a detached yet incisive look at the ghetto told from the perspective of two vets who have seen the worst the projects have to offer. The popularity of Italian-mobster-like musical arrangements may have been on its deathbed at the end of the millennium, but this one is still breathing with enough anger to keep it alive.
Produced By: Hill Inc.
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Nas gets blowed and lets you know what is on his mind over a real classy track. “I don’t like the way P. Diddy did Shyne with different lawyers/Why’s it mentioned in my rhymes?/Fuck it, it’s just an intro/Hate it or love it, like it, bump it or dump it,” he starts, ready to speak no holds barred.
He soon addresses the thugs and attempts to make them take a meaningful look at themselves: “The ‘hood love you, but behind your back they pray for the day/A bullet hit your heart and ambulance take you away/That ain’t love it’s hate/Think of all the mothers at wakes/Whose sons you’ve killed and you ain’t got a cut on your face?” The truth can come out when lighting up, especially if you’re Nas.
Produced By: L.E.S. & Wyldfyer
Album: Hip Hop Is Dead
Label: Def Jam
Yup, it was what we expected. Once the white flags went up, the concert appearances started happening, and Nas signed to Def Jam, it was only a matter of time before president/CEO Shawn Carter and Nasir Jones would finally make an authentic recording together. Honestly, “Black Republican” might not have been entirely worth the wait (it’s a little anticlimactic), but it still gets a vote on its historical significance alone. Love them or hate them (and there are hardcore Stans who have drawn a line in the sand and have chosen sides), they are two of the greatest rappers to ever do it and them joining forces is worthy of the hoopla.
Produced By: will.i.am
Album: Hip Hop Is Dead
Label: Def Jam
It had to be said. The growing dissatisfaction with rap music could be heard for years. Still, Nas’ declaration that the boom-bap had bit the dust caused a shit storm not seen since among fans and contemporaries alike (Jeezy was far from the only one not feeling the sentiment). That the distressing message was coming from an artist of Nas’ stature meant this was a serious topic that could no longer be ignored.
As in your grill as the notification was, there was cleverness employed in the song, particularly how it rehashed (and revamped) the same sample used on “Thief’s Theme” (throwing in drums from “Apache” for good measure) to prove a point—biting, once taboo, had long become accepted, so why not bite yourself? Those emotional about the statement of rap’s demise were blinded to all the wordplay (“Gave my nigga my right, I could have gave left/So like my girl Foxy, a nigga went Def”). The song cuts off abruptly, but the lyricism displayed here told the real story: If hip-hop was in the afterlife all it needed was a resurrection. (Almost forgot…Gotta love a song that includes “Grindin’, hittin’ Brazilian dimes from behind.”)
Produced By: Hit-Boy, Corbett
Album: King’s Disease II
Label: Mass Appeal
Neither Ms. Lauryn Hill or Nas were in the primes of their careers when they recorded “Nobody” in 2021, but their performances on the cut would suggest otherwise.
Both bring inspired performances, with Ms. Hill rapping her ass off and Nas taking things back to the early days, recalling his rise in the game. There’s a particularly excellent anecdote, where he recalls some advice he received from a Cali legend. Nas raps: “Sunny L.A., remеmber calls with Dr. Dre/ He told mе, ‘Don’t let the palm trees fool you, n*gga, be safe.’” Nas is at his best in this role, as storyteller, narrator, memoirist.
Produced By: Large Professor
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Nas deserves props for this one. The creativity he shows on “Rewind” is part of the reason the Street’s Disciple has gained so many devoted followers. That’s right, Nas tells a story about murder—only he does it from the ending to the beginning. A backwards rap.
Produced By: N/A
Album: N/A
Label: N/A
“You can take a dude out the ‘hood, but you can’t take the ‘hood out a dude” is the lesson on an underground joint that brings together three QB (Queens’ Best) kingpins. Take it from us: The odds are too tough to call on who to bet on in this trifecta of urban terrorists who come out at night. Packing serious lyrical heat, they touch on the us vs. them mentality, demonstrating how and why every day can be your last in the jungle:
Nature: “So I chose rap, we vamped to never go back/Until this life of animosity, the high velocity/Niggas be on the same team, planning to blow shots at me.”
Nas: “Money’s the root of evil, but it’ll make you happy/Don’t wanna shoot my people, but still they might clap me.”
Nore: “If it was up to me, the whole world would be comfortably/But since its not, y’all niggas stay fucked up/I think about y’all too much and be bankrupt/So niggas get yours, I got mines, niggas, so what, what?!”
This record signifies the best of times for the trio. The worst of times were yet to come, as both Nature and Nore would eventually (and inevitably) have problems with Nasir (those differences would end up getting squashed, of course).
Produced By: L.E.S.
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
A young, beautiful woman who should be a queen is nothing more than a skeez. Nas and Jo-Jo are highly disappointed and rap and sing about it. But will the message get through? Sadly, probably not. Sigh.
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
No kidding around, this excellent analysis of immaturity is subject matter rarely explored in rap. Nas uses fictionalized characters (but let’s face it, there are real people exactly like this man and woman in the song) to demonstrate that, yes, staying young at heart has its benefits, but when you refuse to grow up, life will pass you by.
Particularly impressionable is the 31-year-old ex-con living at his mom’s crib, still slingin’, goin’ nowhere: “All his peoples moved on in life, he’s on the corners at night/With young dudes, it’s them he wanna be like/It’s sad, but it’s fun to him, right?/He never grew up/31 and can’t give his youth up/He’s in his second childhood.”
Premier’s bouncy production with snappin’ bass and scratched-in patchwork of various records for the chorus deserves a second listen too, kid, so stop playin’ and push play.
Produced By: Curt Gowdy, Trackmasters
Album: N/A
Label: Aftermath
Sounding like a Wild West high-noon shoutout and featuring the ever-flowing Canibus, “Desparados” was one of the highlights from The Firm crew. The version on the Aftermath album, however, only had Nas doing the hook. You had to go the mixtape route to get the added Esco and Foxy verses.
Produced By: N/A
Album: Demo
Label: N/A
Biz Markie shows up at the start to say what up to the fellas Nas and AZ, but it turns out to be nothing more than a big tease, as he’s not heard from again on the rest of this otherwise exceptional demo track that uses Grover Washington Jr.’s “Mister Magic” to full effect. Nas already has the flow down perfectly, it’s that just his rhymes are an nth degree off and need a smidgeon of polishing. You’ll notice portions of this section (“verbal assassin,” “the words of man kill”) will be picked and distributed to other more famous Nas rhymes.
Produced By: Havoc
Album: Nastradamus
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Almost any other rapper who did a song with a hook that goes, “Shoot ‘em up, just shoot ‘em up, what…Kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder,” would be dismissed as just another generic gangsta rapper—and not a very good one at that. That Nas can pull it off speaks volumes about how dedicated fans perceive his repertoire—they’ve come to expect him to kick some level of knowledge in his music, even in a song like this one. Is this lurid story rap of sex, murder, and betrayal with the sing-songy, Cypress Hill–ish flow and tingling, winter-cold beat from Havoc a sensationalistic cheap thrill or social commentary? That’s for you to decide.
Produced By: The Alchemist
Album: The Realness II
Label: Viper records
This one was more than 20 years in the making. Nas and Cormega, childhood friends from Queensbridge, had never released a song together where it was just the two of them.
So what makes “Glorious”—which appeared on Mega’s Realness II—stand out is that it actually lived up to the hype. They sound so locked in together, rapping over a gritty, throwbackish Alchemist beat that plays to their respective strengths.
Nas and Mega are both in their 50s now. So they’re not going to be rapping about the streets. Instead they take a more reflective stance, with Nas rapping:
“Can’t remember my thirties / Need to make some new stories, more unforgettable
Nasir, Cory, if Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris was one
We live a life, a glorious one, forty of Vernon, dunn dunn.”
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: I Am…
Label: Columbia
After not releasing a solo album in three years following the huge success of It Was Written, Nas took a risk by making a sequel (more like a remake) to one of his most admired songs. For artists who strive to be the greatest of all-time, messing with your legacy is something to think twice about. Nas took a step in the right direction, however, by again enlisting the same man who created the Illmatic classic, DJ Premier, who makes subtle changes to the original beat.
Lyrically, the Rotten Apple is as grimy as ever, if not more so (“See the sergeant and the captain strangle men/Niggas gaspin’ for air ‘til they move no more and just stare with dead eyes”), but when it comes to loyalty among crews, things done changed. He does a great job of counting down how he went from eight crime partners down to two (and, yes, it involves snitching, “the snake shit”). Dangerous as ever (“Stick yo’ ass up, niggas’ll find the loot in your kicks… All of a sudden we got Crips and Bloods”), this New York won’t make you feel brand-new, but tired and tight.
Produced By: L.E.S.
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
The truth is, some have questioned Nas’ past and how “real” he is. On this deep, swirling groove (with backup in the background from AZ), he spits a bit about the ’86 crack blitz to show he knows what that life was like, but as things wind down, we find out the actual message of this song: “This thug life you claimed it, I make millions from entertainment/Now back in the ‘hood, certain cats they wanna kill me/They ice-grill me, but on the low, niggas feel me.” The lesson being, whether they love to hate you or hate to love you, they can’t deny that you stay on their mind. You gotta love it!
Produced By: Trackmasters/Trackmasters
Album: It Was Written/”Street Dreams” 12″
Label: Columbia/Columbia
The follow-up to “If I Ruled the World” was a huge success, another notable entry on the charts, another wondrously reworked “cover” of a popular tune (the way Nas rapified the chorus of the Eurythmics mega-hit was on point). There was so much win to this poppin’ single: the video—a Casino remake with a cameo from goodfella Frank Vincent—was one of God Son’s best, and the smoothed-out, grown-folks remix single was like getting a whole new different song.
If that weren’t enough, the 12″ single featured a version with an alternate third verse that might be better than the one on the album. After all the lofty talk of drug-dealer aspirations, this stanza closes with a sobering thought for that ass: “Back on the block, buggin’, how the fuck I been through this?/Nearly cost my life, but now I can’t show a cent from it.”
Produced By: Large Professor
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Right or wrong, the subliminal dis is a major tool in a rapper’s arsenal. The secretive language in which MCs can speak to each other drives rap fans to spend hours decoding lyrics, trying to find the hidden meaning. The Nas vs. Jay-Z fued was waged largely on an indirect level, finally exploding at Hot 97’s Summer Jam in ’01.
But all the way through the back-and-forth bickering, there were solid records like “You’re Da Man,” not-so-friendly reminders (if you listened carefully) that things weren’t cool. “I hold cannons that shoot balls of flames right in they fat mouth” and “Soon as I popped my first bottle I spotted my enemies tryin’ do what I do/Came in with my style, so I fathered you” go right at Jay Hova. (“Fame went to they head, so now it’s ‘Fuck Nas'” could also be a reference to Cormega.) Today, recordings like these are historical documents that tell the tale of one hip-hop’s greatest wars.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: I Am…
Label: Columbia
Using the letter-writing technique from “One Love,” Nas pens two stirring correspondences to the Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac, both of whom he had misunderstandings with while they were still alive. Using Kenny Loggins’ popular record “This Is It,” he takes extra care in weaving in the song titles to some of their works and wonders about what could have been: “You came to my ‘hood, we was broke/I wonder if we stayed that way, would there have been gunsmoke?,” he writes to Biggie, then offers an explanation for missing his funeral: “I missed your wake not ‘cause I’m fake ‘cause I hate to see somebody so great in that way.”
As far as 2Pac, you can tell Nas is conflicted about unresolved issues he had with the slain rapper: “You asked if I could trade in your place, how would I hold up?/How long would I ride, before I fold up?/How did you know through your rhymes it was your time to go?/You predicted it in every line, all in your flow/There could ‘Never Be Peace,’ I have to quote/Can’t believe I heard my name on the realest shit you ever wrote.” That last line is an obvious reference to Pac blasting him on “Against All Odds.”
(This record is also notable for an early Jay dis: “And these niggas is wrong using your name in vain/And they claim to be New York’s king?”)
Produced By: Tha Bizness
Album: The Recession
Label: Def Jam
There were many happy people the day Barack Obama got the Democratic presidential nod, but perhaps none happier than Young Jeezy. His unabashed love letter showing support to the future U.S. Prez was so heartfelt it was contagious, making it damn near impossible for anybody, including former nemesis Nas, to front on it. (That it also boasted about his blue Lambo, made a promise to email Jesus while CC’ing Allah, and served as a eulogy for Soulja Slim and Pimp C made it even that much better.)
Motivated for real, the Snowman deaded the beef with God’s Son and had him jump on the powerful anthem that let the world know he wanted Obama to be the president that represented him. The rest is history.
Produced By: Jay Electronica
Album: Untitled
Label: Def Jam
Trance-like free association backed by frantic, manic-depressed pianos, this short, stimulated selection makes you think and keeps you hinged on what the next word might be, although it’s obvious he’s taking shots at 50 Cent: “Take 27 MCs put them in a line and they’re out of alignment/My assignment since he said retirement/Hiding behind 8 Mile and The Chronic/Gets rich but dies rhyming/This is hot science/Now add 23 more from Queens to B-More/I’m over their heads like a bulimic on a seesaw/Now that’s 50 porch monkeys ate up at the same time.”
Produced By: Wildfyer
Album: Hip Hop Is Dead
Label: Def Jam
Nas in a nasty mood can result in some lethal lyrics. Maybe it’s all the haters out there, or maybe it’s the ominous musical arrangement that’s inviting him to rhyme with evil in mind, but what he’s saying on here is nothing nice. In one imagined scenario (well, maybe not that imagined given the obvious shot at Jim Jones), he tells how he’d set up a foe: “Got bitches high as hell and they fuckin’ like AIDS don’t exist/They get sent to your hotel, a maid and shit/Put a barrel in a capo mouth ‘til his scalp come out.” He then goes on to give some simple rules to avoid getting on his bad side. “Rule 1: Cocksucker, keep my name from your tongue/Rule 2: Thought ya knew, don’t fuck with God’s Son/Rule 3: See, matter fact, I just wait/If y’all reach Top Five, then I’ma eat y’all alive,” he rhymes with particular disdain in his voice. In other words, you don’t want it with Nas.
Produced by: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Album: Rich Forever
Label: Maybach Music Group, Def Jam, Warner Bros. Records
Rick Ross’ 2012 mixtape Rich Forever was packed with enough heat to have been sold in stores exactly as is, and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League produced “Triple Beam Dreams” is one of the tape’s highlights. Nas jumps on verse one spitting straight acid, and Ross follows up with his trademark drug dealer supervillain bars. The pairing was a winning one: Nas and Ross had already squared off on “It’s a Tower Heist” off 2011’s Tower Heist soundtrack, and they regrouped soon after Rich Forever for “Accident Murderers” from Nas’ Life Is Good album.
Produced By: Nas, Salaam Remi/N/A/N/A/NA
Album: Hip Hop Is Dead/”Where Are They Now (Remix)” 12″ Limited Edition
Label: Def Jam/Ill Will
Now this is a tribute. Nas did something special when he decided to record “Where Are They Now” along with the three thematic remixes that caught everyone by surprise. This is the rapper’s rapper just being a fan, giving some of the artists he enjoyed listening to a chance to shine all over again. A much-needed history lesson for all the young bucks out there.
Produced By: The Alchemist
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
“No idea’s original/There’s nothin’ new under the sun/It’s never what you do, but how it’s done.” So goes the chorus to the song that samples Barry White’s immortal “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More Babe,” which has been jacked by everyone from the Beastie Boys to Ghostface Killah.
But what Nas is getting at is we all have more in common than we do different: “We coincide, we in the same life, maybe a time difference/On a different coast, but we share the same sunlight/Your part of the world might be like colors or gangs/While on my side brothers’ll murder for different things/But it all revolve around drugs, fame and shorties/Stuck for your bling, stripped for your chain, the same story.” People may be people, but when it comes to MCing, Nas wants his rivals to know they’re not on his level. “It’s not a facade it’s a fact, these rappers wanna be Nas,” he says. “My exodus doesn’t exist, I’ll never leave the streets.”
Produced By: Ski
Album: For All Seasons
Label: Columbia
No need to split open a Dutch, the “animal rap” (Nature prefers the term “dumbin'”) and that crazy flute goin’ off in the background of “The Ultimate High” are set to take you to another level as Nate and Nas team up one mo’ time to score another underground hit. Nature sets it off bragging, “When I walk into a room, niggas feel a slight breeze/Stay a little while ‘til they feel they might freeze/Never understood why they never liked me/’Cause when I locked the door, they turned into Icees.”
Puff, puff, and he’s ready to pass it to the homie. Feeling philosophical? Well, Nas is: “What’s me without the ‘hood?/A tree without wood/A dutch with no bud/A cut with no blood/A fuck but don’t nut, I be incomplete/If me and the street wasn’t in between the sheets.” The song is so good that it doesn’t matter that it might be a little bit dated (Nature: “Playin’ Sega Dreamcast till the plane lands”).
Produced By: Baby Paul & Mike Risko
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Not all the turmoil going on in the Queensbridge projects makes the news cameras. In ’01, the hostility amongst rappers reppin’ the same area was at an all-time high. Nas gets a lot off his chest on “Destroy & Rebuild,” a jab-jab-left-hook that rides on Cormega, Prodigy, and Nature—old beef, no longer an issue. His choice of a Slick Rick flow is understandable ,since Nas and the Ruler do share somewhat of a kindred spirit, both recognized for their wise words.
But on this record, it’s not about wisdom, but about dumbing out on enemies, and he goes hard at Cormega: “Cory changed his name to ahh, whatever/Cornchip, Buckwheat lookalike, it’s Mega/Right, Mega was his name, sorry about that/But it’s so hard to put a coward’s name in my rap.” He chides P for getting robbed: “Jungle was busting his gun to get your weak chain back/They don’t respect you, a check’s due for me for your fame.” And he calls Nature an “old-lady pocketbook snatcher” and a dick rider. His spoken rant at the end shows a definite 2Pac influence on Esco. Fortunately, after this destruction, the QB representers rebuilt their friendships.
Produced By: Dame Grease
Album: N.O.R.E.
Label: Penalty
It’s kinda fucked up to say a song about driving around with a cadaver in the back of the whip is a lot of fun, but this gripping narrative about the disposal of a dead man is nonstop action, the high-strung convo between Nore and Nas coming off like a fly-on-the-wall corpse reenactment. The way the two speak to each other, cutting each other off, reminiscing about past events, you couldn’t write a better script. The simple hi-hats and eerie melody don’t get in the way of the unsettling drama that unfolds just like a movie.
Produced By: Megahertz
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Nas breaks down the more memorable moments of his lengthy career (“My first album had no famous guest appearances/The outcome, I was crowned the best lyricist”), takes a few shots at his foes (“Come at Nas if you want a war”), and generally bigs himself up (“This is Nasdaq dough, in my Nascar with this Nas flow”) on a champagne-toasting salute that interprets the famous Sopranos theme song. The video, which depicted Nas morphing into Tupac and Biggie and recreated their murders, was crazier than Uncle June.
Produced By: Mobb Deep
Album: Hell on Earth
Label: Loud
When Prodigy says on “Give It Up Fast,” “You see big guns in 3-D, it’s haunting,” that’s about as good a summary as any when it comes to describing the nihilistic works of Mobb Deep, who have the power to visually place you in the middle of their bloody, war-torn experiences. Joined by the ever-so-cool Nas and always-hungry Rappin’ Noyd, this is another exhilarating episode of late-night crime stories completely unfiltered. The music is like something from a special X-rated Miami Vice that has Crockett and Tubbs getting done in the QB projects.
Produced By: DJ Premier/DJ Premier
Album: Illmatic/N/A
Label: Columbia/N/A
“Represent” does, in fact, rep one of the East Coast song-structure styles that at one juncture ruled. The rugged you-and-your-mans-barking-in-unison was a popular type of hook that reflected the harsh NYC elements, both the climate and the living. “Represent” also captures the mentality and customs of early ’90s inner-city youth. You could say that this and every other song on Illmatic is about the New York state of mind. “When I dress it’s never nothin’ less than Guess/Cold be walkin’ with a bop and my hat turned back.” That’s not just about style, it’s about the attitude.
The unmistakable Premier beat immediately pulls you in, a pulsating rhythm that can heat up the coldest winter. Nasty Nas, in repping mode, informs listeners he keeps a razor under his tongue—even when he raps—and upholds tradition by closing out with a string of requisite shout-outs. Then, to show you the New York toughness, he can’t resist adding, “Fuck y’all crab ass niggas, though.” Reppin’ like a NY cat is supposed to.
The original “Represent” was the first song Nas and Premier worked on together. It boogied with a busy bass line that gave the cut a whole different feel, but was replaced when Preemo heard Pete Rock’s “The World Is Yours” and wanted to step up. However, there’s also an early draft of the lyrics to “Represent” that can be heard on “I’m A Villain” which appeared on Nas’ excellent demo, often dubbed Prematic. Although some may call it blasphemous to put a song from Illmatic so low on the list, its placement is the result of the song having one of the weaker hooks on the album, despite the amazing verses.
Produced By: No I.D., Jermaine Dupri
Album: American Gangster
Label: Roc-A-Fella
That’s one of the most scorching, wailing organ melodies you’ll likely ever hear—not the smallest violin in the world playing for Jay and Nas, who inform y’all that being filthy rich ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be (boo hoo) as they collab on the same song for the second time.
Sharing basically the same feelings about success as Eminem does on “I’m Back” (“It sucks,” Jay says, “I had more fun when I was piss-poor”), Mr. Carter reveals some of the problems of being loaded: “And is this what success is all about?/A bunch of niggas acting like bitches with big mouths/All this stress, all I got is this big house/Couple of cars, I don’t bring half of them shits out… I got watches I ain’t seen in months/Apartment at the Trump I only slept in once.”
Nas (surprise) can relate: “Old cribs I sold, y’all drive by like monuments/Google-Earth Nas, I got flats in other continents/Worst enemies wanna be my best friends/Best friends wanna be enemies like that’s what’s in/But I don’t give a fuck, walk inside the lion’s den/Take everybody’s chips, about to cash them in.” Note the not-so-subtle shots at Hov. Verdict? They didn’t convince us that being rich and famous is lame, but the pair was successful in making a damn good record.
Produced By: Nashiem Myrick & Carlos Broady
Album: Nastradamus
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Widely considered his weakest album, Nastradamus was not without some quality. Take “Project Windows,” for instance, a flashback to not only Nas’ childhood (“At night the windows were speakers, pumpin’ life out/A fight, people screamin’ ‘cause somebody pulled a knife out”), but to his early rhyme style. Littered with gems like “so many ways out the ‘hood but no signs say out” and “you should chill if you short, prepare deep thought,” the album version featured the one-and-only Ron “Mr. Biggs” Isley and his soulful voice doing an excellent job as always. But the stripped-down (unfinished) version that’s been passed around the ‘Net gives the song a more melancholy feel, reminding us that life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough.
Produced By: The Infinite Arkatechz
Album: Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB Finest
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Prodigy and Nas get deep like the mind of Farrakhan on a nightmarish track that gets into their thought processes. P really gets into the concept, letting us hear what his conscience tells him about writing lyrics: “Take my word, niggas wanna hear how you think/It be that shit that you wouldn’t expect to win/That stay playin’ in they decks over and again… Place your anger on the page, release tension on the tape/A stress verse, seem to be what they most thirst.” But penmanship isn’t the only advice, as his conscience keeps it real with Prodigy: “Without me you’d be a memory/I’m the one you could come to for guidance/Bring you home alive when you wildin’.”
Nas doesn’t engage in a by-his-self convo, but does reveal his thoughts about trust: “See, niggas smile up in your face and stick a knife in your back/Snakes shake your hand and got his dick up in your wife back/Why’s it like that? It’s life Black, this is the game/The way I see it both bitches and niggas is the same/I trust myself, I can’t fuck myself/When hoes leave and no weed I still know me, just myself.” So what have we learned? When you’re out for delfia-selfia, remember that your conscience is there to help ya.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: Summatyme Shootout Pt 1/N/A
Label: N/A
Nas Escobar jackin’ for beats on DJ Clue mixtapes during the summer of ’96 made up what was “The Foulness” series. Going off on instrumentals of Kane’s “Young, Gifted, and Black” (via Albert King), Biz’s “Nobody Beats the Biz” (via Steve Miller), and EPMD’s “You Gots to Chill” (via Zapp) for parts 1 and 2, he was then joined by Nature for parts 3 and 4, both going in on the beats for “Shootouts” and “Watch Dem Niggas,” respectively, off of It Was Written. “The Foulness” wasn’t foul at all—it was fresh to death.
Produced By: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Warryn “Baby Dubb” Campbell
Album: Late Registration
Label: Roc-A-Fella
So heavenly you expect Jesus to walk in through parted clouds, the ridiculously exuberant music for “We Major” is just shy of a full-on religious experience. Putting you in a good mood a few seconds after it drops (‘Ye, rightfully announces he’s “Feeling better than some head on a Sunday afternoon/Better than a chick that say yes too soon”), the celestial output hits like warm rays of sunshine.
No wonder Nas thinks aloud on how to set off his stanza: “I heard the beat and I ain’t know what to write/First line, should it be about the hoes or the ice?/.44’s or Black Christ?/Both flows would be nice.” Taking the positive route, he proceeds to share his feelings about the industry, telling us that somehow the crack game still reminds him of the crack game: “And I love to give my blood, sweat, and tears to the mic/So y’all copped the LPs and y’all fiends got dealt/I’m Jesse Jackson on the balcony where King got killed.”
But perhaps the most important moment is when Mr. West poses one of man’s toughest questions about the sportin’ life: “Ask the Reverend was the strip clubs cool/If my tips help send a pretty girl through school?” Ah, yes—rap, the gift that keeps on giving.
Produced By: Pretty Boy, D. Moet, Poke & Tone
Album: I Am…
Label: Columbia
Sometimes it’s hard to remember whose song this is supposed to be. If there was anybody to put out a record called “Hate Me Now” in ’99, it would have most definitely been Puffy, who was heavily criticized for his he-told-you-he-won’t-stop adlibs, self-promotional tendencies, and calculated pop formulas. But why would Nas make a record like this?
As it turned out, Nas was P.O.’ed about everyone going green-eyed monster on him for being a model-dater and the first rapper to bring a platinum plaque back to the projects.
All this pent-up emotion resulted in this harmonic apocalypse of a single with a controversial video (after a scene of Puffy being nailed to the cross that was supposed to be cut ended up on MTV, he assaulted Steven Stoute, Nas’s manager at the time, with a chair, a champagne bottle, and a telephone). Brash, loud and egotistical, the song is from an era when you sorta had to be famous to have haters.
Produced By: Buckwild
Album: 4,5,6
Label: Cold Chillin’
What’s not to love about this glorious Queens connection rich with wrong-side-of-the-law imagery and machine-gun flows? Nas and Kool G Rap on the same record is like Magic and Kareem on the same team taking the NBA title. The happy-go-lucky Buckwild production is some straight-up ’90s goodness that makes you nostalgic for Giuliani-era NY (the music, not the mayor—fuck Giuliani!).
The final verse with the Kool Genius of Rap and the Half Man Half Amazin’ going line for line—G Rap: “Two players rockin’ silk blazers and diamonds like glaciers”/Nas: “Lands with name-brand seats reclinin’ like it’s spacious”—is mind-blowing.
Produced By: Havoc, Prodigy
Album: Murda Muzik
Label: Loud
The movie Scarface has left a figurative buck-fifty on the collective imagination of the hip-hop nation, a mark permanently carved into a notable portion of the art form. Everybody knows Tony Montana lived the life that is diamonds and guns, and that before he snorted piles of coke and met his fate in a hail of enemy bullets, he lived the good life (however briefly). Looking at the upside of thug life (the partyin’), “It’s Mine” jacks a synth-heavy composition from the film’s OST and perverts Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” for the boozy, sung-bad-on-purpose hook. But, this being a Mobb Deep collabo, a distant gloomy undertone seeps through, making this an apropos score for a fleeting gangsta’s paradise.
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
Nas is known for some of the most innovative ideas in hip-hop, and “I Gave You Power” was an early example that Nas was an MC who not only had something to say, but found intriguing ways to get his message across. Although the compelling song, in which Nas takes the cold POV of a gun, was preceded by a few years by Organized Konfusion’s “Stray Bullet” (which is rhymed from the perspective of, you guessed it, a bullet), Nas’ take is no less effective.
“My body is cold steel for real/I was made to kill, that’s why they keep me concealed… They feed me when they load me with mad slugs… When I’m empty, I’m quiet, findin’ myself fiendin’ to be fired… Pull my skin back and cock me, I bust off when they unlock me/Results of what happens to niggas shock me.” The song builds to the moment when the gun purposefully jams itself (“He squeezed harder, I didn’t budge/Sick of the blood/Sick of the thugs, sick of wrath of the next man’s grudge”) only to see the vicious cycle continue. Damn.
Produced By: DR Period
Album: Doe or Die
Label: EMI
Like Notorious told us, mo’ money = mo’ problems. Add mo’ murder to the equation (hell, add just one murder), and it’s not illmatic or stillmatic, it’s Problematic (with a capital “P”).
In this prelude to The Firm jump-off (you can hear them shout it out in the song, and Foxy appeared in the video), Nas is held hostage, but that doesn’t stop him from painting a Rembrandt of a portrait when describing his captor: “Gators from Barbados, never seen nobody play those/Lay-Low is what they called him, his head baldin’/Sippin’ cappucino, spilled on his silk suit, was scaldin’/Laugh was vulgar, canvas paintings of the Isatollah/And on his arm he wore a priceless vulture.”
AZ presents a picture of himself that is equally as vivid: “My presence is like that of a Christian/With ammunition puttin’ states under submission/Street addiction, got me tied in thorough with buroughs/Still in the ghetto, but in the cut where it’s mellow.” You have just witnessed the minds of two poets who will get rich or die trying.
Produced By: Marley Marl
Album: Bootleg
Label: N/A
Underground classic. Marley getting down and dirty with a neck-snapping loop (and a chopped up bit from “One Love” for the hook) perfect for the local heroes Kamakazee (consisting of KL R.I.P. and Solo aka Kyron, both also of Screwball) and the motherfucking man, Cormega, to completely devour. The backstory, according to unkut.com, is that after the original was recorded, for some reason Nas fronted on the release, so a version with Havoc replacing Nas was thrown on the Screwball album.
In 2004, Nas decided to redo the song for dolo on the 10th anniversary edition of Illmatic, adding two verses (and changing the line “Up in the Marriott, Suite 3010” to the Trump Plaza, for some reason, probably because it sounds flossier). Nas hooking up with Marley, though, was some shit that needed to happen—a historic QB connection.
Produced By: Salaam Remi
Album: Street’s Disciple
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Quoting from his own “The World Is Yours” (“Understandable smooth shit that murderers move with/The thief’s theme, play me at night, they won’t act right”) from 10 years earlier, this is a grimy soundtrack custom-made for summer-night mayhem. It utilizes the well-known “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” guitar groove along with a steady vibrating pitch of high anxiety that mentally places you in the middle of a nerve-racking bank heist or some other hectic crime scene. Nas, “speaking on my old life,” presents yet another ‘hood-inspired anthem that paints pictures of both the glamour and inevitable gloom of trife-life living.
Produced By: Dave Atkinson, Trackmasters/Trackmasters
Album: It Was Written/”Street Dreams” 12″ B-Side
Label: Columbia/Columbia
The hype for Nas’ supergroup was justified with the exciting, Italiano-influenced illegal-living murder mix from Nas’ second LP. AZ really knows how to kick-start a song, and Cormega, fresh from doing a bid, couldn’t sound more like a young G. Rap, which is obviously a compliment. A showcase for newcomer Foxy Brown, who is given extra bars and the honor of doing the final verse, she does her best to impress with images of international jet-setting and complicated drug-dealing math formulas (which may or may not have been written by Nas). Fox Boogie ain’t the only one shinin’, however. Her mentor manages to sneak in an ill line of his own: “Life’s a bitch, but God forbid the bitch divorce me.”
The lively remix, a B-side to “Street Dreams,” uses the same killer keys that made “The Symphony” famous (and Jungle doin’ Marley’s adlibs) and features brand-new rhymes from everyone, with the “ringleader” having a lot of fun with it: “Nas got 19 wives/Seven sheisty, nine of them Pisces/Three white meats under tight cheese.” It was only ’96, but the battle for the No. 1 spot was already fresh in his mental as he closes out with, “I take the crown off the so-called king of the town and lock it down.”
Produced By: T-Ray
Album: Return of the Product
Label: Def Jam
The second time on wax for Nasir Jones was another funtastic turn on a booming B-side posse jam, thanks to the invitation from 3rd Bass’ MC Serch, the man who helped shop Nas’ demo and eventually executive-produced Illmatic.
Back in the early ’90s the young upstart from QB was no stranger to shooting off at the mouth with shit he shouldn’t have said, like “I’m waving automatic guns at nuns/Stickin’ up the preachers in the church/I’m a stone crook/Serial killer who works by the phone book.” Tame by today’s standards, but it was part of getting Nasty Nas a name in the game.
Produced By: Dr. Dre, Chris “The Glove” Taylor
Album: The Firm
Label: Aftermath/Interscope
While the reviews were definitely mixed on the overall final results of the ballyhooed Firm project, Dr. Dre and company delivered the goods with the inventive “Phone Tap,” which went to great lengths to sonically replicate a dramatic scenario in which the MCs engage in a faulty connection between themselves—unawares that the cops are trying to put the Con in Edison and set them up. (The static used to obscure the curses on the clean version was a good call—no need for a fucking beep.) This is a recording that reaches cinematic levels, with everyone on the line getting busy.
Produced By: N/A
Album: “Capone Bone” 12″ B-Side
Label: Penalty
While Nas took a dip into commercial waters after his auspicious keep-it-one-thousand debut, he returned to the ‘Bridge for this blunted-on-reality rap fest with the homies Noreaga and Trag. And what a party it turned out to be. The insanely off-key sangin’ courtesy of Esco is bonkers, but it works. Plus, hearing a young Nore, stylishly raw as ever and vocally far from what he sounds like today, is a tripped-out trip down memory lane.
What’s also interesting is that if you read between the lines, Nas seemingly talks about himself in his verse, a cat who was “born with niggas but now he’s on to mad figgas,” a “cool nigga but about to be called out by the heart testers/Never known for bustin’ his chrome/Wasn’t soft, but wasn’t respected till he was grown.” Listen to the end to see what happens to duke who tries to test him.
Produced By: Large Professor
Album: The LP
Label: Paul Sea Productions
Initially intended for Large Professor’s debut solo album on Geffen way back in ’96, the often bootlegged “One Plus One” was finally released in prime quality when free CD-R copies of The LP were included with certain online purchases of Extra P’s 1st Class. On this exquisite track enriched with warm soothing vibrations, Nas and Large Pro relax their minds and let their consciences be free on a much-too-brief meeting that doesn’t even bother with a chorus. No need to do the math, “One Plus One” equals fresh…even years after being locked in the vaults.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
Trackmasters might have a rep for slick, accessible music, but they were capable of turning out raw bangers like the best of them. This beat is out to lunch, God. “Shootouts” glides along with dazzling style, the violent recollections of Queensbridge life supplied by Nas, who can make you see the action. Snitches get dealt with and attempted jack moves pop off when a Big Willie cat can’t take losing his dough at a block party and decides to do something about it. This is storytelling—the Nas way—at its finest.
Produced By: Ron Browz
Album: God’s Son
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
The King of New York drama is broken down concisely in what for all intents and purposes is an engaging interview turned into a must-hear rap. While “Ether” succumbed to mean schoolyard taunts, this a more responsible account of what went down between Nas, Biggie, Rae and Jay (but that doesn’t mean he can’t drop stuff like, “I was Scarface, Jay was Manolo/It hurt me when I had to kill him and his whole squad for dolo”).
He admits, “There’s some ghetto secrets I can’t rhyme in this song/There’s some missing pieces I had to leave out,” but he does however, unexpectedly discuss the problems with his baby mama. This titillating gossip no doubt got listeners open in what is a rather frank confessional. Ron Browz’ intergalactic ’80-ish production keeps this one on repeat.
Produced By: Havoc
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
Excitement is in the air when neighboring allies join forces to represent the respected breeding ground of the QBC. Blasting right out the gate, the mood gets hype the second the rhymes start flying over the filthy, hard-hitting beat, the audibly crackling vinyl just the right added texture that makes these sheisty individuals sound grimier than ever.
Produced By: Nas, Salaam Remi
Album: God’s Son
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
There was a time when it was probably impossible to list more than a handful of rappers who had never rhymed over a James Brown beat, seeing as how he is one of the most sampled artists ever. But as time waged on it became less common, so it was a mild surprise to discover that someone could freak a souped-up JB-based concoction in 2002 like it was a brand new bag. But Nas did it. Getting in the spirit, Nasir Jones kicks a funky tale that pays tribute to the old-school cats. And yes, he does get down.
Produced By: Havoc
Album: The Infamous
Label: Loud
You know the deal. The Mobb creepin’ with Nas and Rae is guaranteed to be heat. A slow burn of vengeful energy, this wicked wish of payback and demonstration of undying loyalty sizzles with visceral intensity to keep you on edge. P “all jeweled like Liberace,” Hav, his “brain…packed with criminal thoughts,” Nas, whose “sanity is goin’ like an hourglass,” and Rae “glancin’ all up in your cornea, corner ya”—all body the track in a merciless act of quadruple lyrical homicide. This is from a period when these dudes could do no wrong.
Produced By: Large Professor
Album: Illmatic
Label: Columbia
Originally appearing on the soundtrack for the film Zebrahead, “Halftime” was really just the pregame show, an irresistible display of bravado that lyrically went the extra yard. Backed by a sharp booming beat from Extra P, Nas’ first single after two electrifying guest spots ended up getting more attention than the movie it was promoting. The upstart MC scored with various witty lines like “You couldn’t catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer/That’s like Malcolm X, catchin’ the jungle fever” and “I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it/With more kicks than a baby in a mother’s stomach.” The first of many great songs from the game-changer.
Produced By: Precision
Album: The Lost Tapes
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Do they even make back-in-the-day joints anymore? Nas professes his love for Stacy Lattisaw and snorkel jackets in this pleasant throwback to the ’80s. Like he often does, Nas pauses long enough to do the knowledge. “Turnin’ nothin’ into somethin’ is God’s work/And you get nothin’ without struggle and hard work,” he says, which isn’t necessarily religious talk, but common sense. Another fine piece of work from Nasir Jones.
Produced By: Q-Tip/Godfather Don & Victor Padilla
Album: Illmatic/”One Love” 12″
Label: Columbia/Columbia
It was a moving letter to his peoples locked down, but this ghetto poem, enriched by heavenly xylophone accompaniment, was chockfull of vivid descriptions that spoke volumes on a universal level, signifying the importance of friendship (“Why don’t your lady write you?/Told her she should visit that’s when she got hyper”), the perils of prison life (“Last time you wrote you said they tried you in the showers”) and the stark realities of project living (“But, yo, guess who got shot in the dome-piece?/Jerome’s niece, on her way home from Jones Beach”).
It even generated awareness of more QB rhymeslayers (“What up with Cormega, did you see him? Are y’all together?”). The final verse, in which Nas conversates with a 12-year-old drug dealer, is brilliant. “One Love” is, arguably, Nas’ best written song.
The remix, featuring a hook by Sadat X from Brand Nubian, is a more-than-worthy postscript, with slow-winding bass and serious piano keys that result in a stark, altogether-different vibe.
Produced By: Pete Rock/Q-Tip
Album: Illmatic/”The World Is Yours” Single
Label: Columbia/Columbia
“I’m out for presidents to represent me (say what?)
I’m out for presidents to represent me (say what?)
I’m out for dead presidents to represent me”
A hot line and most definitely a hot song, “The World Is Yours” is a wonderful composition, the Pete Rock production rolling along with stated grandeur, the vintage T-La Rock scratches deftly worked in for the calls-and-responses. Another stunning portrait of rough city life, there are also some outstanding observations about the cycle of life itself: “Thinkin’ of a word best describin’ my life/To name my daughter my strength/My son, the star, will be my resurrection/Born in correction all the wrong shit I did/He’ll lead a right direction.” Thoughts that strike your mind like a comet hitting the Earth.
The swinging remix (which was released with a new music video) was invigorated with shout-outs and adlibs that aren’t in the OG version.
Produced By: Chucky Thompson
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Columbia
The outlaw has his gun, the religious man his faith and the MC his microphone. Nas knows his words are like weapons, but their greatest strength may be their ability to heal—or at least strive for change. Lurid details abound in this portrait of inner-city hell (“a cup of virgin blood mixed with 151” is on some evil phantasmic shit; bodies found in dumpsters and shoot-outs at funerals are, sadly, real-life occurrences), yet it is the escalating emotion, from whispers to screams back to whispers, that connects with listeners, causing them to listen more intently. For those seeking meaning amidst the chaos, Nas preaches: “Hoodrats, don’t abortion your womb, we need more warriors soon,” and “You need some soul searchin’, the time is now.”
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: Illmatic
Label: Columbia
Memories have magical powers to conjure feelings both good and bad years later down the road. The vibes are type glorious for the enchanting remembrance that is “Memory Lane,” which glows thanks to a warm DJ Premier track and vivid, streetwise literature. It’s a slice of real life, so it’s all here—the ups and the downs—and you can see everything Nas is spitting. “My window faces shootouts, drug overdoses/Live amongst no roses, only the drama, for real… I reinforce the frail, with lyrics that’s real/Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats/I decipher prophecies through a mic and say peace.” This is one trip worth taking time and time again.
Produced By: Ron Browz
Album: Stillmatic
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Rap beefs are a dime a dozen, selling at a nickel a pound, but Jay-Z vs. Nas was a rare event pitting upper-echelon MCs in which things got very personal, going as far as involving baby moms and whatnot. With Jigga having ruthlessly attacked Nas’ at-the-time waning influence courtesy of a scorching verse on “The Takeover,” many wondered if Nas was finished when he served up a prime cut of utter disregard for Hov, starting off with “Fuck Jay-Z” for good measure.
The shit got downright mean with some “super-ugly” talk, like calling Jay a camel and a JJ Evans lookalike. And to demonstrate this conflict was authentic, Nas hit where it hurt the most by questioning Hov’s friendship with Biggie: “First, Biggie’s ya man, then you got the nerve to say that you better than Big/Dick-suckin’ lips, won’t you let the late, great veteran live?” This war of words was a war between Gargantuas. Once the dust settled, the memories would be long-lasting—”ethered” was formally introduced into popular-culture slang.
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
If the Street’s Disciple’s first full-length offering was for the hip-hop faithful, his second go-round was a calculated executive push for greener pastures. The plan came to fruition, and it happened with a song about dreams coming true, becoming the first major hit on the R&B charts and the airwaves for the young rapper. The feel-good song, which seamlessly meshed Kurtis Blow’s 1.0 version and Whodini’s “Friends,” earned Nas a Grammy nod, and rightfully so.
The wishful thinking and grand-scale make-believe of the lyrics and Lauryn’s soothing crooning are poignant, recorded at a time when her musical future seemed so bright.
Produced By: RZA/Chris Winston
Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…/N/A
Label: Loud/N/A
This right here, this was monumental. A deep meeting of the minds (the first time the Wu had invited someone outside the clique to enter da 36th Chamber) that seriously rocked like there was no tomorrow. Fluidly orchestrating scriptures atop a fractured, soulful Emotions sample, the trio wasted no time dropping more jewels than getaway thieves on the run from Jake. They astounded with massive quantities of syllables and insight. (Another Nas lesson: “From the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable.”) Those expecting the witty, unpredictable talent, and natural game from a Nasir/Clan rally found it here in abundance.
The vibrant “Deja Vu,” written during the It Was Written sessions and produced by Chris Winston, contained the same “Through the lights, cameras and action, glamour, glitter, and gold” first verse spit on “Verbal Intercourse,” but that’s followed up with equally stunning gems of truth: “But miracles never leave the churches/Instead it hits the pockets of the preacher just to purchase/A house with a swimming pool.”
Produced By: DJ Premier
Album: I Am…
Label: Columbia
In a welcome return to the scene after all The Firm biz, Nas teamed up again with frequent collaborator Premier to get back to some traditional Empire State rap. After Nas’ courting of commercial success, this felt like a rejuvenation, a reminder of why we dug Nasir in the first place: scorching visualizations and slamming beats. Even the video was a throwback to the basics, Nas in a flight jacket and skully, doing his thing in Queensbridge, a pause from the Mafioso antics of years previous. The whirling track (complete with bird-chatter drops) gives one the feeling of soaring high above the clouds, breathing in hip-hop in its purest form.
Produced By: L.E.S.
Album: Illmatic
Label: Columbia
Nasir Jones might have only been a bit past 19, but his mind was old. The chorus for “Life’s a Bitch” was a raw proclamation made for the streets to feel, yet the sentiment was of someone twice the age: Celebrate life because death doesn’t always provide fair warning. The joyous music is right for the occasion, since a grateful Nas speaks of waking up early on his born day and then proceeds to tell you to make the most out of your life. AZ did just that, turning an opportunity into a rap career with a thrilling guest verse that captured the imagination of the hip-hop nation. Adding pops Olu Dara on trumpet toward the end was icing on the cake.
Produced By: Salaam Remi
Album: God’s Son/N/A
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
A song that can make the entire club lose it or can make the most jaded New Yorker turn their head when they hear it pumpin’ out of a car stereo is a song worth checking for. A song that also takes a tried-and-true staple like the essential break beat of “Apache” and flips it is even better. “Made You Look” is a great look. That it’s able to use the meta-cliché of gunblasts to stirring effect is impressive to say the least.
The Bravehearts chant at the start is guaranteed to get crowds amped, but what’s funny is that Nas is in chill mode, “in a white T lookin’ for wifey.” Rapping past the end of the record, Nas not only makes you look, but makes you believe in hip-hop (or as he calls it “street hop”) again. The song was later remixed to include Jadakiss but it was Ludacris who stole the show and proved he could run with New York’s best rhymers.
Produced By: Large Professor/Large Professor
Album: Illmatic/”It Ain’t Hard to Tell” (Remix) 12″ Promo
Label: Columbia/Columbia
The Afrocentric Asian (half man, half amazin’) showed and proved on this “rhythmatic explosion” of MJ’s “Human Nature” (juiced up by Extra P), letting you all know about his style: “Speak with criminal slang/Begin like a violin/End like Leviathan/It’s deep, well let me try again.” They did it again with the remix, the Professor in mad scientist mode with his unbelievable flipping of the “Nobody Beats the Biz” sample (“Nas, Nas, Nas is like…”). How did he do that?
Produced By: Trackmasters
Album: It Was Written
Label: Columbia
Before Hip Hop Is Dead caused a ruckus in the industry, Nas dropped “The Message,” a confrontational piece that didn’t name names but got plenty of responses. It has long since been revealed that “Yo, let me let y’all niggas know one thing/There’s one life, one love, so there can only be one king” was indeed aimed at the late Notorious B.I.G. But was Nas really dissing 2Pac with the opening bomb, “Fake thug, no love, you get the slug/CB4 Gusto/Your luck low/I didn’t know till I was drunk though”?
Pac certainly felt so, and was even more pissed for the lines “Caught a hot one… I got stitched up and went through/Left the hospital that same night, what?”—mainly because Pac himself actually lived those lines. Still, Jones has maintained he wasn’t going at Shakur. Well, what is certain is that the contemplative track (based off a Sting song) adds emotional depth to lyrics like “But a thug changes, and love changes/And best friends become strangers, word up.”
Produced By: DJ Premier/Large Professor
Album: Illmatic/Demo
Label: Columbia/N/A
Coming “straight out of the fuckin’ dungeons of rap, where fake niggas don’t make it back,” the opening track of Illmatic is as much a retrospective of a decayed Rotten Apple from days gone by—rife with Mac-10s, fiends, blend tapes, 20s of buddha and bitches with beepers—as it is the blueprint of the Queensbridge rapper’s stylistic origins. (The preceding Wild Style-sampling “Genesis” intro and his admonishment to “Never put me in your box if the shit eats tapes” go a long way in establishing “the smooth criminal on beat breaks” as a legit student of the hip-hop art form.) An early draft of the song can be heard on Nas’ “Just Another Day In The Projects” as well as some lyrics on “I’m A Villain” back when Nas was still developing his style.
The slow, tension-filled buildup of drums and unforgettable piano keys are the backdrop for a head-noddin’ time capsule that is part murder spree, part hustler’s dream—meaning it’s one step away from a total nightmare. Thus, Nas invokes Congolese proverbs fused with streets smarts, the inner-city griot proclaiming, “I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of death,” one of the most memorable lines in hip-hop history.
