If I Ruled The World
Nas / Lauryn Hill Lyrics


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Life
I wonder
Will it take me under
I don't know

Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassin'
Imagine going to court with no trial
Lifestyle, cruising blue Bahama waters
No welfare supporters, more conscious of the way we raise our daughters
Days are shorter, nights are colder
Feeling like life is over, these snakes strike like a cobra
The world's hot, my son got knocked
Evidently, it's elementary, they want us all gone eventually
Troopin' out of state for a plate of knowledge
If coke was cooked without the garbage, we'd all have the top dollars
Imagine everybody flashin' fashion, designer clothes
Lacing your clique up with diamond Roles
Your people holdin' dough, no parole, no rubbers
Go in raw, imagine law with no undercovers
Just some thoughts for the mind
I take a glimpse into time
Watch the blimp read, "The World Is Mine"

If I ruled the world (imagine that)
I'd free all my sons, I love 'em, love 'em, baby
Black diamonds and pearls
(Could it be, if you could be mine, we'd both shine)
If I ruled the world
(Still livin' for today, in these last days and times)

Yo, it'd be, paradise life, relaxin'
Black, Latino and Anglo-Saxon
Armani Exchange, the Range
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz free at last
Brand new whips to crash, then we laugh in a iller path
The Villa house is for the crew, how we do
Trees for breakfast, dime sexes and Benz stretches
So many years of depression make me vision
The better livin', type of place to raise kids in
Open they eyes to the lies, history's told foul
But I'm as wise as the old owl, plus the Gold Child
Seeing things like I was controlling, clique rollin'
Trickin' six digits on kicks and still holdin'
Trips to Paris, I'd civilize every savage
Give one shot, I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisoners set free, stress free
No work release, purple M3's and jet skis
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I'd let Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse fiends to Willies
It sounds foul, but every girl I meet'd go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica, send 'em to Africa

If I ruled the world (imagine that)
I'd free all my sons, I love 'em, love 'em, baby
Black diamonds and pearls
(Could it be, if you could be mine, we'd both shine)
If I ruled the world
(Still livin' for today, in these last days and times)

And then we'll walk right up to the sun, hand in hand
We'll walk right up to the sun, we won't land
We'll walk right up to the sun, hand in hand
We'll walk right up to the sun, we won't land

You love to hear the story how the thugs live in worry
Duck down in car seats, heat's mandatory
Runnin' from Jake, gettin' chased, hunger for papes
These are the breaks, many mistakes go down out of state
Wait, I had to let it marinate, we carry weight
Tryna get laced, flip the ace, stack the safe
Millionaire plan to keep the gat with the cocked hammer
Makin' moves in Atlanta, back and forth scrambler
'Cause you could have all the chips, be poor or rich
Still nobody want a nigga havin' shit
If I ruled the world and everything in it, sky's the limit
I push the Q-45 Infinit'
It wouldn't be no such thing as jealousies, or B felony
Strictly living longevity to the destiny
I thought I'd never see, but reality struck
Better find out before your time's out, what the fuck

If I ruled the world (imagine that)
I'd free all my sons, I love 'em, love 'em, baby
Black diamonds and pearls
(Could it be, if you could be mine, we'd both shine)
If I ruled the world
(Still livin' for today, in these last days and times)
If I ruled the world, if I ruled, if I ruled (imagine that)
I'd free all my sons, if I ruled, if I ruled
I love 'em, love 'em, baby
Black diamonds and pearls, black diamonds, black diamonds
(Could it be, if you could be mine, we'd both shine)
If I ruled the world
(Still livin' for today, in these last days and times)

If I ruled the world, if I ruled, if I ruled
I'd free all my sons, black diamonds
I love 'em, love 'em, baby
Black diamonds and pearls, if I ruled
If I ruled the world




If I ruled the world
I love 'em, love 'em, baby

Overall Meaning

The song “If I Ruled The World” is a collaboration between Nas and Lauryn Hill. It opens with Nas confessing about the uncertainty of life, and then the song jumps into a vivid imagination of a world where he would be the ruler. In this world, he imagines a society without oppressive law enforcement, where people are free to smoke weed on the streets without any harassment. The song also touches on themes of race, poverty and gender, and puts forward a vision of a world where people of all races can live together in peace and harmony. The lyrics are both critical of the current state of society and optimistic about what the future can hold.


Nas’s lyrics are fabled for their sharp commentary, and his verses are no different in this song. He oscillates between the present and the utopian vision of the future that he imagines, using comparisons between the two to emphasize how the world needs to be changed. He talks about the marginalized, stating that he is more conscious of how they need to be treated and argues for a more egalitarian society, where everyone would have access to designer clothes or brand new whips. For Nas, if he was ruling the world, inequality would be a thing of the past. All parties in the world would be welcomed to share in happiness and peace.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Cloud9
Written by: Samuel J. Barnes, Allan Wayne Felder, Norman Ray Harris, Jalil Hutchins, Nasir Jones, Aaron O'Bryant, Jean Claude Olivier, David Franklin Reeves, Lawrence Smith, Kurtis Walker

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@spike6985

I wish we could go back to this era of Hip Hop

@Matt_and_stuff

D4RK what is hip hop

@kellympinda4723

FACTS

@sirflooowsn4941

Go back to this erea of time... 90‘ best century to life 👍👌 ... said a german 😉

@Rapmaneasteregg

It was the best

@mr.e695

WOrd!!
✌️

509 More Replies...

@vladtheinhaler8754

Lauryn Hill is honestly one of the most remarkable artists to have set foot on this planet, she just goes so well with any beat and any rapper. Nas is easily one if the best rappers from this era no doubt.

@patriciasmith8756

This was the best of the best. NAS was on point

@vonbee22

Real talk !!!!

@deneenreed2019

Facts!!!

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