[Nas] Uh.. uh.. uh.. New York streets where killers'll walk like Pistol Pete And Pappy Mason, gave the young boys admiration Prince from Queens and Fritz from Harlem Street legends, the drugs kept the hood from starvin Pushin cars, Nicky Barnes was the 70's But there's a long list of high-profile celebrities Worldwide on the thorough side of things Livest kings, some died, one guy, one time one day grabs me, as I'm about to blast heat 40-side of Vernon, I turned well he asked me "Whatchu up to, the cops gon' bust you" I was a teen drunk off brew, stumbled I wondered if God sent him, cause two squad cars entered the block and looked at us, I ain't flinch when they watched I took it upstairs, the bathroom mirror, brushed my hair Starin at a young disciple, I almost gave my life to what the dice do Yeah man, throwin them bones Hopin my ace get his case thrown His girl ain't wait for him, she in the world straight hoein While he lookin at centerfolds of pretty girls showin they little cooch, gangstas don't die he's livin proof The D.A. who tried him was lyin A white dude, killed his mother durin the case Hung jury, now the D.A. is bein replaced Pre-trial hearin is over, it's real for the soldier Walks in the courtroom, the look in his eyes is wild Triple-homicide, I sit in the back aisle I wanna crack a smile when I see him Throw up a fist for black power, cause all we want is his freedom He grabbed a court officer's gun and started squeezin Then he grabbed the judge, screams out -- nobody leavin everybody
"Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" - James Brown {*sample cut and repeated*} [Nas] Everybody "Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" - James Brown {*sample cut and repeated*}
[Nas] Some niggaz fuck they enemies in they ass when they catch 'em Weird-ass niggaz are dangerous, so don't test 'em They make you, dissapear, this a year that I won't forget Sold CD's double platinum, met mo' execs Southern niggaz, independent label, real killers Know the business, ran Tennessee for years, now they chillin They had the coke game somethin crazy Sold music out the trunk of they car, that shit amazed me Put me onto heron blunts, sherm or somethin Took a puff, what the fuck, I turned to punch them Southern niggaz ain't slow, nigga tried to play me I left from around them dudes, they cool but they crazy Now I'm back around the old school that raised me New York gangstas, we loungin, out in L.A. see A dude wrote my dawg from Pelican Bay The letter say, "Nas I got your back - the fools don't play" I rolled with some Crips down to a Crenshaw funeral Never saw so many men slaughtered and I knew the ho responsible The nigga still alive in a hospital Midnight they crept in his room and shot the doctor too See my cousin's in the game, thuggin and things He plugged me with a dame who was half-Mexicano Gave the ass up, I'ma mack daddy Soprano She passed me the indigo, but the imbecile shoulda never tippy-toed, thought my eyes were closed Openin the hotel room do', to let her goons in But I moved in a manner, on some Jet Li shit I let the hammers blow, wet three kids See honey thought I had somethin to do, with all the drama Cause I was with a crew, that had her people killed Called up my cousin, told him I ain't fuckin witchu He responded cool, but told me out here this how motherfuckers
"Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" - James Brown {*sample cut and repeated*} [Nas] Everybody "Get down, get down! Get down, get down!" - James Brown {*sample cut and repeated*}
[unknown speaker] All I really gotta say is that if that's how our people gon' get down, how we ever gon' get up? How we ever gon' get up if that's how we get down? A shame when you ain't look at it My folk is yo' folk, but we all kinfolk Somebody gotta make a change
