Illmatic was a critically acclaimed bestseller and is widely considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time. He married R&B singer Kelis in 2005, they have one son together, and she filed for divorce on the 29th of April 2009. Nas was also a part of hip hop supergroup The Firm, which released one album.
In the years following the release of Illmatic, Nas pursued a more commercial direction, which resulted in wider success but decreased artistic credibility among critics and hip-hop purists. Furthermore, Nas' increased commercial success was accompanied by stylistic changes that fostered accusations of "selling out". Nevertheless, the LP Stillmatic is often credited for restoring Nas' credibility among fans. Since the success of Stillmatic, Nas continues to maintain a high profile within the hip hop community, and has pursued a decidedly progressive and personal aesthetic. While Nas' current artistic direction differs greatly from his most successful work, it has ensured that he remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers.
1973–1992: Childhood and early career
Nas was born in Brooklyn, New York, as the elder of Olu Dara and Fannie Ann Jones's two children; his brother Jabari (nicknamed "Jungle" because he was born in the Congo) is the younger of the two. The family lived for a time in Brooklyn, before moving to Queensbridge, the largest public housing project in the United States. Olu Dara left the household in 1986, when Nas was 13, and Ann Jones raised her two boys on her own. Nas dropped out of school in the eighth grade and began selling drugs on the streets of New York. He educated himself, reading about African culture and civilization, the Qur'an, the Bible and the Five Percent Nation. He also studied the origin of hip hop music, taping records that played on his local radio station. As a child, Nas had wanted to be an instrumentalist (at the age of three, Nas played his father's trumpet on the step of their Brooklyn home) and also a comic book artist. Shortly after his parents separated, Nas began to write short stories as he immersed himself deeper into hip-hop culture.
By his preteen years, he had settled on pursuing a career as a rapper, and as a teenager enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willie "Ill Will" Graham as his DJ. Nas first went by the nickname Kid Wave before adopting his more commonly known alias of Nasty Nas. Nas and Graham soon met hip-hop producer and Flushing Queens resident Large Professor, who introduced Nas to his group, Main Source. In 1991, Nas made his on-record debut with a verse on "Live at the BBQ", from Main Source's LP Breaking Atoms. Despite the substantial buzz for Nas in the underground scene, the rapper was rejected by major labels and was not signed to a recording deal. Nas and Graham continued to work together, but their partnership was cut short when Graham was shot and killed by a gunman in Queensbridge on May 23, 1992.
1992–1995: The recording and release of Illmatic
In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass, who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records the same year. Nas made his solo debut on the single "Halftime" from Serch's soundtrack for the film Zebrahead. The single increased the buzz surrounding Nas and when MC Serch’s solo album is released later in the year, Nas’ standout appearance on "Back To The Grill" only intensified interest in his upcoming album, amid immense anticipation. Hailed as the second coming of Rakim, his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community. However, many were concerned that Columbia, being a major label, would try to dilute his New York based style.
In 1994, Nas' debut album, Illmatic was finally released. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as one of the premier rap albums ever created, Illmatic featured lyrics that portrayed stunning visual imagery and production courtesy of several producers . The album featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) and DJ Premier, as well as guest appearances from Nas' friend AZ and his father Olu Dara on the song "Life's a Bitch", Illmatic was immediately hailed as a masterpiece by critics, and is still highly regarded as one of the definitive hip-hop albums of all time. Notable songs on the album included "NY State of Mind" (produced by Premier), "The World Is Yours" (produced by Pete Rock), "One Love" (produced by Q-Tip) and "It Ain't Hard To Tell" (produced by Large Professor and featuring a sample of "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson). However, due in part to extensive bootlegging, the record sales fell below expectations.
Following Illmatic, Nas appeared on AZ's Doe Or Die album, and collaborated with his Queensbridge-associates, Mobb Deep, on their album, The Infamous. One notable achievement during this period was Nas' verse on "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. After this appearance, Nas received a Source Quotable as he had the distinction of being the only non-Wu-Tang Clan member to be featured on one of the group's solo albums.
1996–1998: From It Was Written to The Firm
Columbia began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics like the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who had become successful by releasing street singles that still retained pop-friendly appeal. Nas traded manager MC Serch for Steve Stoute, and began preparation for his second LP, It Was Written, consciously working towards a crossover-oriented sound. It Was Written, chiefly produced by Poke and Tone of Trackmasters Entertainment, was released during the summer of 1996. Two singles, "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees) and "Street Dreams" (a remix features R. Kelly) were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Williams, making Nas a common name among mainstream hip-hop. Other notable tracks on the album included "The Message" and "I Gave You Power," which tells a story from the perspective of a gun. It Was Written also featured the debut of The Firm, a supergroup consisting of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. The album also introduced Nas's Mafioso-inspired character "Nas Escobar", who lived more of a Scarface/Casino-esque lifestyle. On the other hand, Illmatic, which, while having numerous references to Tony Montana and the theatrical hit featuring Al Pacino, was more about Nas' life as a teenager in the projects, hustling and smoking marijuana.
The Firm signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label, and began working on their debut album. Halfway through the production of the album, Cormega was fired from the group by Steve Stoute, who had unsuccessfully attempted to force Cormega to sign a deal with his management company. Cormega therefore became one of Nas' most vocal opponents, releasing a number of underground hip-hop singles dissing Nas, Stoute, and Nature, who was Cormega's replacement in The Firm. The Firm's The Album was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews and lackluster sales and the members of the supergroup went their separate ways.
At about this time, Nas became a spokesperson for the Willie Esco urban clothing line, but had no other connection with the clothing line. He stopped promoting Willie Esco in 2000, dissatisfied with the company's operations. During the same period, Nas co-wrote and starred in Hype Williams' 1998 feature film Belly, which also featured DMX, Taral Hicks, and T-Boz of TLC among its cast.
1998–2000: I Am... to Nastradamus
In 1998, Nas began work on a double album to be entitled I Am...The Autobiography, which he intended as the middle ground between the extremes of Illmatic and It Was Written. The album was completed in early 1999, and a music video was shot for its lead single, Nas Is Like, produced by DJ Premier and featuring vocal samples from "It Ain't Hard to Tell". However, much of the LP was leaked in MP3 format onto the Internet, and Nas and Stoute quickly recorded enough substitute material to constitute a single-disc release.
The second single for I Am was "Hate Me Now," featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs (now "Diddy"), was used as an example by Nas' critics for moving towards commercial themes. Hype Williams shot an allegorical video for the single, which featured Nas and Puffy being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus; After the video was completed, Combs, a Catholic, requested his crucifixion scene be edited out of the video. However, the unedited copy of the "Hate Me Now" video made its way to MTV, and was premiered on April 15, 1999 on TRL. A furious Combs and his bodyguards allegedly made their way into Steve Stoute's office and assaulted him, at one point apparently hitting Stoute over the head with a champagne bottle. Stoute pressed charges, but he and Combs settled out-of-court that June.
Columbia had scheduled to release the pirated material from I Am under the title Nastradamus during the latter half of 1999, but, at the last minute, decided Nas should record an entirely new album for release. Nastradamus was therefore rushed to meet a November release date. Though critics were not kind to the album, it did result in a minor hit, the Timbaland-produced "You Owe Me," featuring R&B singer Ginuwine. The only pirated track from I Am... to make it onto Nastradamus was "Project Windows," featuring Ronald Isley. A number of the other bootlegged tracks later made their way onto The Lost Tapes, a collection of underground Nas songs that was released by Columbia in September 2002. The collection saw decent sales and received glowing reviews.
2000–2001: The Nas vs. Jay-Z rivalry and Stillmatic
The highly publicized rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z began as a rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z's protege, Memphis Bleek. On his debut album Coming of Age, Bleek made a song entitled "Memphis Bleek Is", which was similar in concept to Nas' single "Nas is Like". On the same album, Bleek recorded "What You Think Of That" featuring Bleek's mentor Jay-Z, which contains the refrain, "I'ma ball 'til I fall/what you think of that?". In retaliation, "Nastradamus", the title track from Nas' second 1999 album, featured a reference to "What You Think Of That". The lyrics state, "You wanna ball till you fall, I can help you with that/You want beef? I could let a slug melt in your hat." Memphis Bleek perceived the reference on "Nastradamus" as a diss, and therefore dissed Nas on the lead single for his The Understanding LP, My Mind Right".
QB's Finest was a compilation album that featured Nas and a number of other rappers from Queensbridge, including Mobb Deep, Nature, Littles, The Bravehearts (which included Nas' younger brother Jungle among its members), and Cormega, who had briefly reconciled with Nas. The album also featured guest appearances from Queensbridge hip-hop legends Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, and Marley Marl. Shan and Marley Marl both appeared on the lead single "Da Bridge 2001", which was based on Shan & Marl's 1986 recording "The Bridge". "Da Bridge 2001" also featured a response from Nas to Memphis Bleek, in which Nas called out most of the Roc-A-Fella Records roster, including Bleek, Damon Dash, Beanie Sigel, and Jay-Z.
Jay-Z responded to Nas' songs with an onstage swipe during the 2001 Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in New York City, when he premiered his song "Takeover." Initially, the song was to only be a Mobb Deep diss, only including one line about Nas near the end. Nevertheless, Nas recorded the "Stillmatic Freestyle," an underground single which sampled Rakim and Eric B.'s "Paid in Full" beat, and attacked Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella label. On his 2001 album, The Blueprint, Jay-Z rewrote "Takeover," dedicating half of the song to dissing Nas, claiming that he had a "...one hot album every ten year average" record (referring to Illmatic) that his flow was weak, and that he had fabricated his past as a hustler.
Nas responded with "Ether", the track begins with gunshots and a repeated, slowed-down sample of Tupac rapping "Fuck Jay-Z." (taken from Tupac's "Fuck Friends") In "Ether," Nas accuses Jay-Z of stealing ("biting") lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G. and brown-nosing Nas and other rappers for fame. Ether was included on Nas' fifth studio album, Stillmatic, released in December 2001. Stillmatic managed to be not only a critically-acclaimed comeback album, but a commercial success as well, albeit not on the level of It Was Written and I Am...; the album debutted at #7 on the Billboard album charts and featured the singles "Got Ur Self A..." and "One Mic." In terms of commercial success, Jay's The Blueprint was certified double-platinum, while Stillmatic went platinum.
Jay-Z responded to "Ether" with a freestyle entitled "Supa Ugly." going into detail about how he had sex with Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas' daughter Destiny. Nas dismissed the track by claiming that he was no longer with Bryan during the time the affair took place. In a recent interview, however, New York radio station Hot 97 settled the battle taking votes comparing "Ether" and "Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes. By 2005, the two rappers had eventually ended their feud without violence or animosity. During Jay-Z's I Declare War - Power House concert, Jay-Z announced to the crowd, "It's bigger than 'I Declare War'. Let's go, Esco!" Nas then joined Jay-Z onstage, and the two then performed "Dead Presidents" together, which Jay-Z had sampled from Nas' song "The World is Yours."
2002–Present: From God's Son to Street's Disciple and beyond
In December 2002, Nas released the God's Son album. and its lead single, "Made You Look". The album debuted at #18 on the Billboard charts despite widespread internet bootlegging. Time Magazine named his album best hip-hop album of the year. Vibe Magazine gave it 4 stars and The Source gave it 4 mics. The second single, the inspirational "I Can", which reworked elements from Beethoven's "Fur Elise", became Nas' biggest hit to date during the spring and summer of 2003, garnering substantial radio airplay on urban, rhythmic, and top 40 radio stations, as well as on the MTV and VH1 music video networks. God's Son also includes several songs dedicated to memory of Nas' mother, who died of cancer in 2002. In 2003, Nas was featured on the Korn song "Play Me", from KoЯn's Take a Look in the Mirror LP.
Nas released his seventh studio album, the critically acclaimed double-disc Street's Disciple, on November 30, 2004. The album's first singles were "Thief's Theme" and "Bridging the Gap", which features his father Olu Dara on vocals. The album also includes "These are Our Heroes", which accuses prominent sports stars and actors such as Kobe Bryant, Lenny Henry, Tiger Woods, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. of neglecting their heritage and background in favour of white values. The videos for "Bridging the Gap" and "Just A Moment" received moderate airplay on MTV and BET. Although the album went platinum, its commercial profile was relatively low compared to the rapper's previous releases.
Nas was featured on Kanye West's album Late Registration on a song titled "We Major". West said the song was Jay-Z's favorite on the album, but West was unable to get Jay-Z to record a vocal for the final mix of the song. He also appeared on Damian Marley's song "Road to Zion" (which also featured newcomer The Game in the video, widening Nas' still growing universally appreciated raps) and several other songs such as "Death Anniversary" and "It Wasn't You" (featuring Lauryn Hill). In addition, Nas was most recently married to the R&B singer Kelis, who is mostly known for her work internationally, but nonetheless released great hits in the U.S. The couple wed on Jan. 8, 2005 in Atlanta, GA, after a two-year engagement.
During this time, Nas announced that his next album would be entirely self-produced and feature no other rappers, and would be titled Nasir, and later that the project would feature other producers after all and would be called Nasdaq: Dow Jones. Neither of these albums ever materialized.
At a free concert in Central Park, New York, Nas made a statement regarding the quality of 50 Cent's music. "this is the real shit, not that 50 Cent shit!" In response, 50 Cent included a stab at Nas by speaking negatively of his wife Kelis on his single "Piggy Bank," implying that Kelis was promiscuous and calling Nas a "sucker for love." Nas was quoted as saying that he feels no obligation to retaliate, remarking "[50 has] got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him." Nas eventually decided to retaliate, and in July 2005 released "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)", a song which taunts 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew, stating that 50 was "a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love." However, despite all of this, Nas still claims to "have a lot of love towards 50," claiming 50 didn't understand his moves when they both were together at Columbia Records.
In January 2006, Nas signed a label deal with Jay-Z's Def Jam, further emphasizing the Jay-Z/Nas truce and raising expectations for a collaboration even higher. His album due in fall of 2006 will come out in a joint deal with this imprint and Columbia Records. He recently announced to MTV News that his album is to be named, "Hip Hop is Dead...the N," the N being a play on the word the "end." The title is supposed to reflect what some would term the current low quality of rap music. The highly anticipated album is due out in December 19th, 2006.
Musical style and Technique
Nas has long been famed for his creativity and storytelling prowess, which has earned him acclaim from both the hip-hop community and critics. In his early stages, from his first appearance on the Main Source's Breaking Atoms and throughout the recording of Illmatic, he was perhaps best known for his street-oriented topics, complex lyrical schemes (which often incorporated multi-syllabic internal rhymes), and witty phrasing and imagery. As he progressed and matured, Nas began to branch out into different subjects and developed a richer voice and slower rapping technique.
Following Illmatic's release, Nas developed a penchant for hyper-visual storytelling and topical creativity. For instance, "Undying Love" (featured on I Am...) is a tale of his wife's betrayal told in first person, "Rewind" (featured on Stillmatic) is a narrative in which a story is recited backwards, while on "I Gave You Power" (featured on It Was Written), Nas assumes the role of a gun who recounts brutal tales of murder and violence. Over the years Nas' style has changed significantly. In contrast to his previous work, Nas’ most recent material is distinctively socially aware and often politically inflammatory. Songs such as "I Can" (featured on God's Son) convey moral messages of black youth empowerment, while "These Are Our Heroes (Coon Picnic)" accuses several African-American celebrities of being Uncle Toms. Furthermore, controversial songs such as "My Country" and "A Message to the Feds (Fuck The Police II)" (which are featured on Stillmatic and Street's Disciple, respectively) question the conduct of the American government. Nas' views in his lyrics throughout his career have made references to Islam and the Five Percent Nation..
The Escobars
Nas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Honies cash weed cars
ghetto celebrities 'hood movie stars
gat slingers now rap singers are who we are
went from Nasty to Nas to Nas to Escobar
The path we all walk starts out long it's like a boardwalk
monopoly some make it around some go down it's prophecy
hoppin' in v's knowin' some day I got to lead properly
high up in a five realizing the price paid
for this life laid in the light shade
one might say, top of the world's two whips, a crib and a girl
quick to celebrate it, poppin' corks like they made it
pretentious, arrogant niggas is senseless
pro ball players with white wives, peep they night lives
while you could catch me in a crisp white five
dark tinted, dijon-scented, with Al Green on
my theme song, love and happiness, how can it seem wrong
I mean before this, I used to rock a taurus with the donuts
now I grown up, got it chromed up
got the rap game sewn up, sho-nuff
niggas acting cool, but it's really no love
I feel a slow buzz, off the dutch
this is everyday, every second
got to make it pay, every lesson I learnt
got me open while most of these rappers'll stay burnt
Chorus 2x (the second time "Honies" changes to Money")
With so much drama in QBC, it's kinda hard being Escobarro
Elderado Red, sippin' Dom out the bottle
my life is like a Donald Goines novel
we wave glasses like bravo
drunk niggas with mad problems, and shot pockets
my niggas from the block rock this,
box cocaine, cook it and chop it
looking to profit, in different ways
goin' through this difficult stage, called life
but each year my physical's praised
some fell beyond the reach of help
cut in the street, thinkin' they could teach theyself
when all we wanted was a piece of wealth
and randomly, feed our family
the streets are insanity
amply, living in ths thug's fantasy
richest nigga in show biz is what I plan to be
heavy chain and my QB sway, living this king's life
magazines write about me, in this dream it's all tight
Chorus 2x (The Second time "Honies" changes to "Money")
Now the main thing that boggle my brain be all the bottles of pain
iced the chain and all the followers came
they tried to throw me off track, but I caught that
they thought I lost that
but I'm continuing to make more stacks
halftime, new york state of mind, it was written was hittin'
trips overseas, southeast, diamond and riches
sleepin on the plane, wake up when we land feelin' real scared, on the
ground
rollie flush, princess cuts, and large rounds
the crews up, findin time to shine rocks
it's real, you violate, be in a pine box
if it go there, I lay you before you lay me, it's crazy
I didn't make the game, the game made me
records for the babies so they raised up in mansions
haters keep hating, and ladies'll keep glancing
y'all know the routine out this muthafucka.... word up
In the song "The Escobars," Nas and Manolo Escobar describe the rise to fame and power while reflecting on the struggles and hardships that they have experienced. The chorus of the song represents the materialistic possessions that they have acquired along the way, including honies (women), cash, weed, and cars. They also discuss the transition from being "ghetto celebrities" to more well-known and respected figures in the rap industry.
Nas reflects on the tough path that led him to where he is today, describing it as a long boardwalk with some making it through and others going down. He talks about the happy moments in life and how they are often accompanied by tragedy. In the song, he emphasizes the importance of leading properly, and being responsible for one's actions.
The second verse of the song contains several references to the drug trade as Nas and Manolo Escobar recount some of the darker moments of their lives. They describe the challenges of living in the Queensbridge projects and trying to make a living through illegal means. They also reflect on the deaths of friends and acquaintances who fell victim to street violence.
In conclusion, "The Escobars" is a song that reflects on the journey of two men from humble beginnings to fame and fortune. It describes the struggles they faced and the sacrifices they made to rise to the top. The song emphasizes the importance of being true to oneself and taking responsibility for one's actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Honies cash weed cars
Wealth, power, and luxury are the things we desire and which we have achieved through our fame and hard work.
ghetto celebrities 'hood movie stars
We are famous and admired in our community as though we are movie stars, even though we come from the ghetto.
gat slingers now rap singers are who we are
We used to sell drugs and carry guns to survive, but now we have transformed ourselves into successful rap artists, and that is our identity.
went from Nasty to Nas to Nas to Escobar
We have gone through various stages of our lives, and our journey has been like a metamorphosis from being called 'Nasty' to 'Nas' to finally Escobar, which symbolizes our success, wealth and power.
The path we all walk starts out long it's like a boardwalk
Our journey towards success starts with a long road ahead of us, an uncertain road like a boardwalk.
monopoly some make it around some go down it's prophecy
The path to success is like a game of monopoly where some succeed and some lose out, it is a prophecy that is already written in fate.
happy days balancing with life's atrocities
We try to balance our happy moments in life with the atrocities that come along with it.
hoppin' in v's knowin' some day I got to lead properly
Driving fancy cars now, but we are aware that we have a responsibility to lead our community in the right direction.
high up in a five realizing the price paid
Being in a luxury car like a BMW 5 series, we understand the price we paid for our success and fame.
for this life laid in the light shade
We are enjoying our luxurious life in the light of success, and we acknowledge that life wasn't always easy.
one might say, top of the world's two whips, a crib and a girl
We have everything one could ask for, including two fancy cars, a beautiful house, and a beautiful woman in our life.
quick to celebrate it, poppin' corks like they made it
When we achieve success, we celebrate it, and sometimes it seems like we forget the hard work that went into achieving it.
pretentious, arrogant niggas is senseless
We don't appreciate people who are pretentious, arrogant and senseless in their behavior.
pro ball players with white wives, peep they night lives
We notice that some professional athletes have white wives, and we are curious about their nightlife activities.
while you could catch me in a crisp white five
While these athletes are out partying, one can find me in my luxury car, a crisp white BMW 5 series.
dark tinted, dijon-scented, with Al Green on
We drive with dark tinted windows, listening to Al Green, and smelling of expensive cologne.
my theme song, love and happiness, how can it seem wrong
Love and happiness are our theme song, and we cannot see anything wrong with that.
I mean before this, I used to rock a taurus with the donuts
Before my success, I drove a regular car, a Ford Taurus with spare tires.
now I grown up, got it chromed up
Now that I have grown up, I have a fancy, chromed-out car.
got the rap game sewn up, sho-nuff
We have got the rap game under control, no doubt about that.
niggas acting cool, but it's really no love
Our peers may act cool, but they do not have true love for us.
I feel a slow buzz, off the dutch
We feel a slow buzz from smoking Dutch cigars.
this is everyday, every second
This is our everyday life, every second of it.
got to make it pay, every lesson I learnt
We have learned to make every lesson we learn pay off in our life.
got me open while most of these rappers'll stay burnt
We are open to learning new things, while most rappers fail to learn from their mistakes and stay burnt out.
Elderado Red, sippin' Dom out the bottle
We are drinking expensive champagne, Dom Perignon, in our fancy car, Eldorado Red.
my life is like a Donald Goines novel
Our lives are like a novel by Donald Goines, full of drama, action, and intrigue.
we wave glasses like bravo
We raise our champagne glasses high in celebration, like in a Bravo TV show.
drunk niggas with mad problems, and shot pockets
We party with people who are drunk and have financial problems, and some who carry guns.
my niggas from the block rock this,
My friends from the neighborhood are rocking with us.
box cocaine, cook it and chop it
We used to sell cocaine, and we knew how to cut and chop it to make more profit.
looking to profit, in different ways
Now we are looking to make money in different, more legal ways.
goin' through this difficult stage, called life
We are going through the difficult stage of our life journey.
but each year my physical's praised
Despite the challenges, we stay physically strong and healthy every year.
some fell beyond the reach of help
Some of our peers have fallen so far that they cannot be helped.
cut in the street, thinkin' they could teach theyself
Some people lose their lives in the streets, believing that they can teach themselves everything they need to know.
when all we wanted was a piece of wealth
We just wanted to have a piece of wealth, to live comfortably and take care of our families.
and randomly, feed our family
We used to have to feed our families by any means necessary, sometimes in random and unpredictable ways.
the streets are insanity
The streets are a dangerous and insane place.
amply, living in ths thug's fantasy
Despite our success, we sometimes still feel like we are living in a thug's fantasy.
richest nigga in show biz is what I plan to be
Our goal is to be the richest person in show business.
heavy chain and my QB sway, living this king's life
We wear a heavy chain around our necks, and sway as though we are royalty, living the life of a king.
magazines write about me, in this dream it's all tight
Magazines write about us, and it feels like we are living in a dream, everything is perfect.
Now the main thing that boggle my brain be all the bottles of pain
What keeps me thinking is the many struggles we have gone through, as represented by all the bottles of expensive alcohol we drink to celebrate our success.
iced the chain and all the followers came
Once we got our expensive jewelry and chains, people started following and admiring us.
they tried to throw me off track, but I caught that
People tried to sabotage our success, but we were able to see through their schemes and not let them throw us off track.
they thought I lost that
People thought we had lost our success or drive, but we were able to keep going.
but I'm continuing to make more stacks
We are continuing to make more and more money.
halftime, new york state of mind, it was written was hittin'
Our music and our state of mind are a representation of halftime and New York, and our album 'It Was Written' was a hit.
trips overseas, southeast, diamond and riches
We have gone on trips abroad, to Southeast Asia and other places, where we have seen and experienced great wealth and luxury.
sleepin on the plane, wake up when we land feelin' real scared, on the ground
We sleep on the plane during our travels but get scared when we land in new places, unsure of what to expect.
rollie flush, princess cuts, and large rounds
We have expensive Rolex watches, diamond cuts that are shaped like a princess crown, and big, shining diamonds.
the crews up, findin time to shine rocks
Our crew is always looking for ways to stand out and be successful.
it's real, you violate, be in a pine box
We live a real life, and if someone disrespects or violates us, they may end up in a coffin or pine box.
if it go there, I lay you before you lay me, it's crazy
If it comes to it, I will take you out before you can take me out, it's a crazy thought but a reality.
I didn't make the game, the game made me
I didn't create the rap game, it is the game that created me and my success.
records for the babies so they raised up in mansions
We make music for the next generation, so they can grow up in mansions and live a comfortable life.
haters keep hating, and ladies'll keep glancing
People who hate on us will keep hating, but women will always look at us and be impressed.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: AARON SCHROEDER, JERRY RAGOVOY, NASIR JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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