"Shootouts"

Yo, release what's in me
Besides the Henny, it's eyes that's seen plenty
Fiends get skinny as if Queens was a Craig Jenny
Instead of diet plans it's crack 200 grams
I pump a G-pack, peeping for where the D's at
It's slow, lookin for Rambo, the cop who got grazed
Back in the days, chasin niggaz through my project maze
That cop he got a death wish
He run behind niggaz until you breathless
Everyday he makin ten arrests, sheeit
My nigga check this, I know the bitch he rest with
I even blessed it, forty-dash-ten inspect it
(Already checked it Dunn, near his ankle you could see his gun)
Peep, he parked his Jeep in the back of the slum
to check Tanisha, fat ass real fly, with the blonde caesar
Vetacini summer gear, she push the two-seater
I heard she brag about the way he eat her
A Irish man short slim with a tan, they say he laced her cheeba
She do be lookin weaker, now her teeth are foul
Speakin loud, peep her style, in and out of every reefer cloud
Fat ass dissolvin, like cotton candy in a mouth that's starvin
Rock the same gear daily, like a soldier in my squadron
I heard she let Jake investigate from her window
cause she's a nympho, suckin dick and coughin up info
So now it's set up, her and the beast to get wet up
I know he vest up, we blazin from the neck up
(Yo let me knock first) Soon as he open it your glock burst
They had the chains on, son hit the lock first
We busted in the cop jerked
Jungle popped one in his shirt
I grabbed the bitch by her tits, she tried to say she Earth
We saw the cameras, tape recorders, and the monitors
They eyein us (Nas yo he survived one from the fo'-five)
Pull his shades down, they seen his last days now
There's no way now, we can be treated just like a slave now
Two in the dome, he's laid down, aiyyo the bitch is saved now
She's living in a snitch grave now
[Chorus: Nas]
Shootouts is similar to Wild West
Broad daylight, face to face without a vest
You know the episodes, thugs camouflage the spectacles
Please God to save the life that the Devil sold
See +It Was Written+ but was never told
Peep the jewels black man, it's even better than gold
Niggaz roll with iron, police roll in hot pursuit
tryin to stop the loot, fuck Jake, cock and shoot
[Nas]
Still on the streets with my peeps so deep
We threw a block party for my man goin up creek
to do his two to four, niggaz show love, from all around the board
Peace Lord, Sony Handi-Cam on record
Pop a bottle, cause when you come home we still got it sewn
We can watch the tape play back and just zone
Film all the bitches, on the benches with ill extensions
We block the streets off, only crew cars can enter
Music was loud and it was crowded
Barbecued wings we fed the fiends (gamble in the back) Killa shouted
And Frank tried to stop the bank loss, about what a Roley cost
Guzzled his drink, and staggered off
He's a Big Will, used to slang krill, now he own the hill
Couldn't take losin his cash, and I could feel
somethin in the air yeah, Frank returned with Pierre
A gun slinger, who niggaz hadn't seen in a year
I usually be holdin - 'specially this type of weekend
And everyone except for me had started reachin
They had gats in each others faces, with kids
and grandmothers around, Frank's only concern was his paper
My man Killa let off, half of them fake niggaz jet off
Police blitz quick, waitin for that to set off
Runnin the static, it got me mad cause they a bunch of faggots
Startin shit in my hood, I can't have it
Yo High, get the 40-cali stainless, Jake is still out
Let's make it real and still make them niggaz famous
Dip behind trees in fatigues and squeeze, dodge and weave
Hearin Jake retaliatin, and Wiz was up the alley waitin
We breeze, jump in the ride, heard Pierre died
Internal bleedin inside, and ain't been back since ninety-five
[Chorus]

"Live Nigga Rap"
(feat. Mobb Deep)

[gun blast]
[P] I shot the motherfucker back
[H] Right out the ass son
[P] For niggaz don't know how to act
[H] What the deal son
[P] I shot the motherfucker back
[H] No doubt son
[P] For niggaz don't know how to act
[Prodigy]
Yo NYC, U-N-I-verse, se-riously
Havoc and P, Queens niggaz so it seem to be
Monopolize, strategies of war, exercise, mega
Got word back from Noreaga
The D.A. got video cassette taper
The God with the God-U-Now, pullin a caper
Runnin up in the spot, mask and duct taped up
Pig tied they motherfuckin wrists to they ankles
I been through, crime shit my niggaz in-to
Peep the issue situation like this, we stickin him too
JFK on our way to L.A.
Got links with big cats down to Santa Barbre (Barbara)
My crew do it the Mobb way, everyday
Crime pay, who wanted gunplay? Drill me
Niggaz kill me, thrillin me, you wanna look?
Peep the nine milli, now undress, you know the drill-y
Niggaz suspect, weak links pose threats, I have yet
to met challenger who go against my set
Gem stars razor sharp like Gilette, shavin closely on
any character approach me
I let the streets get the best of me, infamy, my destiny
While cat burg-lars tryin to sneak peep the recipe
Inside my rap cookbook, paragraphs is gourmet
You pay about $5,000 a plate
[Havoc]
No doubt kid, I hit them niggaz like a bid
The prosecutor, runnin up in your crib
Do your dirt, I do my dirt all by my lonely
It's only me, and the gat that's holdin me
We got it locked beyond measure, the click's under pressure
Extort you for your treasure smack you with the undresser
Represent your click, go ahead, get that ass whipped
(Floatin in the river with your body wrapped in plastic)
Wannabe thug, get smacked for back talkin
QB represent fuck that, it can happen
While you rappin, I'm busy tryin to sneak the gat in
Could tear men, cut the party while you jammin
We think smarter, reach harder, got the 44
Bodyguard of somethin you don't want a part of
If I was you, then I would do what I have to
But you ain't me, you hesitated so I clapped you
Then stepped off casually, naturally me
[Nas]
Niggaz thinkin shit sweet, I carry big heat
Wavy hair chipped teeth, up in this bitch deep
Queens murder clicks meet, yellow tapes on black gates
Mediterranean, projects is like Kuwait
I escape into zones, that's irregular
Why debate on a phone, I'm solar cellular
Escobar 600, you just a crumb inside a world
where the rich run it, curriculum of a mathologist
Deep throats, they try to swallow this
Anthropologists, dynasties of great knowledgists
I preserve in my dome, niggaz mics is full of silicone
Spot's blown, guerilla ice on this killer's life
I put my word on it
Now you can sleep on or rock a swerve on it
Nas is menage a trois' on Mount Aire lodges
We like a smooth fam', but rougher than how DeBarge is
Catchin charges, of marksmen, livin heartless
Grab a cartridge, cock my shit on some Mobb shit
We mobbin, puttin niggaz in mausoleums
From Queens cross the Throsnic, heads bop, I see 'em
from queens cross to throgsneck heads nod
[Chorus: Prodigy (3X)]
For niggaz don't know how to act
To all my niggaz on the block slangin crack
Rest in peace to my niggaz layin on they back
To all the niggaz who bust gats (live nigga rap)
[H] If youse a live nigga

"If I Ruled The World"
(feat. Lauryn Hill)

[Intro: Nas (Lauryn Hill singing in the background)]
Life..... I wonder....
Will it take me under.... I don't know
[Verse One: Nas]
Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassin
Imagine going to court with no trial
Lifestyle cruising blue behind my 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 not evidently
It's elementary, they want us all gone eventually
Trooping out of state for a plate knowledge
of coke was cooked without the garbage we'd all have the top dollars
Imagine everybody flashin, fashion
Designer clothes, lacing your click up with diamond vogues
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"
[Chorus: Lauryn Hill, Nas]
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
[Verse Two: Nas]
The way to be, paradise like relaxin black, latino and anglo-saxon
Armani exchange the reins
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz, free at last
Brand new whips to crash then we laugh in the 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, click rollin
Trickin six digits on kicks and still holdin
Trips to Paris, I civilized every savage
Gimme one shot I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisonner set free, stress free
No work release purple M3's and jet skis
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I make Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse themes to Willies
It sounds foul but every girl I meet to go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica send em to Africa
[Chorus: Lauryn Hill, Nas]
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
[Verse Three: Nas]
You'd 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
Tryin to get laced, flip the ace stack the safe
Millionaire plan to keep the gat with the cop camera
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 a Q-45 Infinit
It wouldn't be no such thing as jealousies or B Felonies
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??
[Chorus: Lauryn Hill, Nas]
If I ruled the world
Imagine that
I'd free all my sons, I love em 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 dimaonds
Could it be, if you could
black diamonds
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!!

"Silent Murder"

[Chorus: (X4)]
[whisper]
Silent, silent
Murder

It's sort of like the conclusion, the color purple
Niggas is losing, confusion, with one time all pursuit moves in
Grabbing niggas up in this movement to rule shit
Cop verses the block, shorties is too quick
Lesson number one. If you're arrested and hung
Where niggas is from gotta keep a lid on your tongue
It's like silent murder, I hit blunts hard like Ray Mercer
the violent words of a prince in a palace of Persia.
The cognac plurger plus the trees,
but whose the faul one to make his nose take a freeze,
and got enough gold to rock ice in all hype.
Used to be a general but just lost his stripe
Pipe dreams and white feinds and all-nighters, collect calls from lifers
Astoria walls with cypress, since I got a problem with the law-writers,
I kick some more items just to explore horizons,
the palm lady dreamt of this day so I'ma play,
the crib close smokin' with the big toast and lay
[Chorus]
They say the arms of Nicki Barnes would be enough to blast,
a lot of rich niggas fell and started pumping gas
Was it the mind of CIA that bumped off Malik Shabazz
Fuck what they teach in class I'ma reach the mass
Strap up, no back up, it's jungle tactics
Livin' practice, out of line niggas get smacked backwards
So wear it if the cap fits, fold it up money and mad clips
A stack right under my matress
To smoke a nigga like a Hugh Bros. motion picture
Niggas gettin' open cruise, won't be olding niggas
April fools they laugh the jokes on the benches
Cease outside my nigga spoke on his sentence
[Chorus (X4)]
Silent
Silent, silent
Murder
My right handers never play too close to cameras
It's nighttime scanners circle that allow gamblers
Peace-making niggas pep talk
the peace-makin 'niggas walk off the hot avenues with they brew.
Time to get this loot countless, 'cuz sun it ain't no youth fountains
Niggas take cash and shoot, bounce and Pakistanians is took hostage
Locked up inside a linen closet known for spending pies up
What's the flavour when your neighbors do jake favours?
Lock them real niggas down and lettin fake players
roam around the project this lyrical logic I dilute,
the weak can object the right composite
We're plottin' all murderous schemes,
it seems I'm ghostly called by the essence of queens
the palm lady dreamt of this day, so I'ma play
the crib close smokin' with the big toast and lay
[Chorus (X6)]
And Cain killed his brother Abel when God accepted Abel's
offering and not his.
Abel's offering showed that Cain was not giving his best to God,
and Cain's jealous anger drove him to murder -
drove him to murder

"N.Y. State Of Mind Pt. II"

Uhh
Yo, yo-yo, y'all
Whattup? Whattup
It's time man (Word, it's time?)
Straight up, it's time man
Aight, set that shit off
(Set it off then nigga, set it off)
Broken glass in the hallway, bloodstained floors
Neighbors, look at every bag you bring through your doors
Lock the top lock, momma shoulda cuffed me to the radiator
Why not? It might've saved later from my block
N.Y. cops, hookers crawlin off the stroll, coughin
stitches in they head, stinkin and I dread thinkin they be snitchin
But who else, could it be, shook at these, unmarked vans
Parked in the dark -- NARC's, where's your heart?
Hustlers starve; they bust a U-e I jog
to my building -- come out later wearin camouflage
See the sergeant and the captain -- strangle men
Niggaz gaspin for air; til they move no more and just stare
with dead eyes -- tired of riots, shit is quiet
Simple-minded fools infiltrate grimy crews
Overcrowded cribs, uncles home from bids, sister's pregnant
father's on drugs, moms is smokin, beds is piss-infested
Had eight partners growin up, eight turned to seven
Seven turned to six niggaz, got two in heaven
Six of us, holdin it, now it's five rollin thick
The sixth one's parole flipped; five niggaz, went to fo' quick
when he went O.T., college life, converted into gangbangin
Four niggaz still hangin, years passed and slang changin
Three of us now, fourth nigga ain't around
We all thought he was real -- he did the snake shit
Fake shit -- beat his ass down, yo his mouth
could've got us all wasted, what a fuckin clown
All I got left in the end is two of my best friends
And we all goin out, to the death for these ends, WHAT?
New York, New York ("New York state of mind" -> [Rakim])
New York, New York ("New York state of mind" -> [Rakim])
[repeat while Nas is talking]
You heard about it, you see about it
You read about it, it's in your papers
It's in your daily news ("Get money!")
New York chronicles, every day
The crime rate, the murder rate
The money rate, the paper chase, youknowhatImean?
New York state of mind baby, check it out
[Nas]
I'm at the, gamblin spot, my hands on a knot
New York Yankee cap cover my eyes, stand in one spot
I take a nigga dough, send him home, to a shoebox
You lost that nigga I put your dollar in the jukebox
Hear my favorite song, all these niggaz sing along
All the ciggarette smoke's cloggin my lungs, hoodrats flashin they tongue
Young thugs blastin they gun, we got reputations
Bitches and niggaz both on parole or probation
Shit is sick, niggaz got gats, army fatigues
I got my eyes glued on, whoever walk in the lead
Cause I ain't playin, niggaz'll run up in here and shoot up this shit
Stick yo' ass up, niggaz'll find the loot in your kicks
Bunch of triple-cross niggaz, just New York niggaz
Lift you off your feet when they was just talkin with you
Some of these dudes the Feds be on em, you knew em for years
Be the type when you walk in a pub, they offer you beers
That ain't gangsta, niggaz is up North with tatted tears
Your name's on the affadavit, you ratted kid
Faggot-ass niggaz that be scared to do they bids
Fuck you, we run you out of N.Y, you can't live
Got your quiet niggaz, that relocated down South
comin back to floss, then you got the jealous loudmouths
All of a sudden we got Crips and Bloods, D.T.'s
runnin round quick to split your mug, it's ea-sy to score
but it's hard to get the shit off
Niggaz fightin over hundred sales, jump in the car and drive off
When the fiend come around the block, happy as hell
Niggaz, mad cause they ain't get a piece of that sale
Cutthroat connivers, universal, ghetto survivors
Go to any hood that's live and make it liver
A lot of niggaz scheamin, some real, some niggaz frontin
But I'm a big dreamer, so watch me come up with somethin
New York, New York
New York, New York

"Hate Me Now"
(feat. Puff Daddy)

[Puff] Escobar season has returned...
[Nas]
It's been a long time, been a long time comin
Looks like the death of me now
But you know, there's no turning back now
This is what makes me - this is what I am
[Puff] Feel me? Let's go
[Base Chorus: Puff Daddy]
You can hate me now.. but I won't stop now..
Cause I can't stop now.. you can hate me now..
But I won't stop now.. cause I can't stop now..
You can hate me now.. you can hate me NOWWWW..
[1st Chorus: add Nas after each pause]
Q.B., real niggas, Bravehearts, c'mon
[1st Chorus: after Nas add Puff Daddy ad lib]
Well you hate me I'm gon' hate you too
It's as simple as that
Die motherfucker die motherfucker die
You don't give a fuck I don't give a fuck
Go down any way you want it to go down (do it now)
Weak, jealous motherfuckers (do it now, do it now)
Fuck y'all!
[Verse 1]
Don't hate me, hate the money I see, clothes that I buy
Ice that I wear, clothes that I try, close your eyes
Picture me rollin, sixes, money foldin
Bitches honies that swollen to riches, Nas get in ya
Most critically acclaimed Pulitzer, prize winner
Best storyteller thug narrator my style's greater
Model dater, big threat to a lot of you haters
Commentators ringside try watchin my paper
Almost a decade, quite impressive
Most of the best is in the essence
for this rap shit that I stand for
Expandin more to the big screen, Bill Gates dreams
But it seems you'd rather see me in jail with state greens
Want me off the scene fast, but good things last
like your favorite MC still makin some mean cash
First rapper to bring a platinum plaque, back to the projects
but you still wanna hate, be my guest, I suggest
[Puff Daddy]
Money is power motherfucker
I got millions of thugs on salary, bitch (do it now)
[Base Chorus]
[2nd Chorus: add Puff Daddy after each pause]
I won't stop
I can't stop
You can hate me
I hate you too
You can hate me now..
You can hate me now..
[Nas] Do it now, I told you do it now
[Puff] Let's go
[Verse 2]
You wanna hate me then hate me; what can I do
but keep gettin money, funny I was just like you
I had to hustle hard never give up, until I made it
Now y'all sayin that's a clever nigga, nuttin to play with
Hate on me, I blew but I'm the same ol G
People warn me, when you're on top there's envy
Took my niggas out the hood, but you doubt on us
Sayin we left the hood but can't get it out of us
My bad, should I step out my shoes, give 'em to you?
Here's my cars and my house, you can live in that too
Criticize when I flow for the streets, hate my dress code
Gucci this, Fendi that, what you expect hoe?
Nickname Esco', took this game to its threshold
Best flow I bet the whole U.S. know
Try to make it like you the realest, but who the illest?
Think we all know the answer to that, cause niggas feel this right
[Puff Daddy]
You think I'ma come this far, and let you niggas stop me now?
I hate you too!! (Do it now!)
[Base Chorus]
[3rd Chorus: add Puff Daddy after each pause]
I won't stop
I can't stop
You can hate me
I hate you too
You can hate me now..
You can hate me now..
[Puff] I like this.. I like the way this feels
[Verse 3]
It's a thin line between paper and hate
friends and snakes, nine millis and thirty-eights
Hell or the pearly gates; I was destined to come
Predicted, blame God, he blew breath in my lungs
Second to none, wicked turn wives to widows
Shoot through satin pillows, the desolate one
Took a little time to claim my spot
Chairman of the board until this game stop, and I side with the Lord
Ride for the cause while drivin niggas shot at my doors
Plottin I'm sure to catch me with they glocks to my jaws
Tried, stickin me up, but I flipped on these ducks (you tried)
Instead of me, ambulances were picking them up (that's what you get)
Niggas fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer
Guess it's just the fury of man
Became a monster, on top of the world, never fallin
I'm as real as they come, from day one, forever ballin
C'mon
[Puff Daddy]
You ain't never seen a nigga like me, ever in your life
And that's what you can't understand!
[Base Chorus]
[4th Chorus: start w/ Puff Daddy, then after each pause]
You can hate me now
I won't stop
I can't stop
You can hate me
I hate you too
You can hate me now..
You can hate me now..
[Puff] You can hate me now
[Nas] C'mon niggas
[Puff] But I won't stop now
[Nas] Do it now! Get this shit over with
[Puff] But I won't stop now..
[Nas] It ain't gon' never stop niggas
[Puff] I can't stop..

"Small World"

See no evil.. fear no evil.. speak no evil.. hear no evil..
If you don't bring that shit around you
You ain't got nuttin to worry about (uh-huh)
Yeah (yeah, uh-huh)
Knah-sayin?
Yo, yo yo yo
Carolyn, from Maryland, she Lady Heroin
She elegant -- her apparel in the M-Class caravan
Ki's of dope, lovin cats to ski in her dope
She fuck killers in her condo, her Benz and her boat
Her iced throat, ass is curvy, 40 years old
She passin for 30, Gucci framed glasses from Purvy's
Madison Ave., shoppin when she not, coppin bricks of that shit
She hoppin on dicks, ridin Pony's who trick
At my man's wake, she said the eulogy
After that I usually, bumped into her shoppin for jewerly
Her bodyguard screwin me, I gave her my math
Ain't nothin new to me, blowin backs out, six-pack Stout's
Wide fat mouth, the evil look, with a bow-leg
Yo niggaz said, "Shorty's a pro, she blow heads
She push the fo' red, she know Feds, Feds know her"
A code red, maybe she's out to slay me, this bitch is crazy
She blew the celly up, meet me at the telly to fuck
She knew about, cats from way back, we smoke the haystack
She never cough once, blunts was her hobby
She said I knew her man probably, no doubt, not since he tried to rob me
I jetted though, sometimes you never know
He snorted all her work, now she need me, to do her dirty work
It's a small world ("It's a.. small world..")
Nigga you reap what you sew
What goes around, comes around
If you sleep you don't know
A very small world ("It's a.. small world..")
where beef could never end
At the time you least expect it
I'ma see you again
It's a small world ("It's a.. small world..")
You get away with it now
Soon enough it catches up to you
Someway, somehow
Yo it's a small world
Watch what you do.. ("It's a.. small world..")
Snook from Redhook was grimy, did five years, glad to be home
from Attica known, for keepin chrome calibers
Smooth like a Wallaby shoe, he's out to get it
Five years plannin to blow, soon as he hit the bri-dicks
Had a girl in Woodside Queens, thought he was low
Played the crib for a month, and deaded his P.O.
Started robbin niggaz til he caught a whole kilo
He had a bunch of starvin niggaz he owe, he never paid though
Got large, sign on his door, "Don't knock hard"
Layin with his bitch, niggaz is rich, is what he told her
Played the block, holdin cracks inside the baby stroller
Here come his crazy soldier, six shots it's over
A year went past, Snook went flossin fast
His old man had crossed his ass, for the laws of this fast cash
It's a small world ("It's a.. small world..")
Nigga reap what you sew
What goes around, comes around
If you sleep you don't know
A very small world ("It's a.. small world..")
where beef could never end
At the time you least expect it
I'ma see you again nigga
It's a small world, no doubt ("It's a.. small world..")
You get away with it now
Soon enough it catches up to you
Someway, somehow
It's a small world
Watch what you do.. ("It's a.. small world..")
I seen death, seen thugs cry, it's bugged why
we let the slugs fly, enter your brain, through your skull
Another thug died, pitchin your soul, into that infinite
black hole, where many souls go cause of a fo'-fo' blast
Snook was one of em, so many more
Even that Fendi whore, got niggaz hit up yeah let that Henny pour
Carolyn, paid-up bitch, made bitch, stay rich
Heard her bodyguard took Snook to God
Carolyn when she needed him, he took the job
He was close to her, ever since she took him inside
When his moms died, dopefiend OD-ed, eighty-five
He went crazy, stuck up banks, to stay alive
He was live - do niggaz even know the things that he tried
Robbed armored trucks - incidents where po-lice died
He stayed in lower Eastside, peace God (peace God)
He starin at me hard
Two of his mans with him, I got to hit em
I'm reachin for my Roscoe, cocked it back on, and get my blast on
At the gas station, bunch of Arabs racin
out the way, as my Torah spray, jump in the whip
Hit the highway, you know how I say, the game that I play
It's real tendencies, when you feel your enemies
but can't figure out whose who, keep it true
Shit is cool now -- put the tools down? Never
Cause everyday is on, livin this life, out for this cheddar
It's a small world ("It's a.. small world..")
Nigga you reap what you sew
What goes around, comes around
If you sleep you won't know
A very small world ("It's a.. small world..")
where beef, never ends
At the time you least expect it
I'ma see you again
It's a small world ("It's a.. small world..")
You get away with it now
Soon enough it catches up to you
Someway, somehow
It's a small world
Watch what you do.. ("It's a.. small world..")
("I'm going to see you again..
Uh-huh.. I'm going to see you again.. nigga..
Uh-huh.. going to see you again nigga.. yeah..")

"Favor For A Favor"
(feat. Scarface)

[Scarface]
Yo Nas..
I don't think they wanna FUCK with this
Gangsta shit.. fo' sho'
("Danger.. danger..")
Check it out
It's on, and once again I bring niggaz the rough
Fuckin with us, that get you motherfuckers touched
Hit in the darkest alleys, where the super sports Rally
Beatin up the block, leavin these motherfuckers shot
They ain't ready for the Nakamici
I flip this shit like I'm Kamaneze
Now dey a motherfuckin see me
They try to breeze me, but I got niggaz in New York
comin kama-kize, sparkin this shit that keep me off the heezee
Jay-Hovah, he with my man came over
to scoop me, blowin dukey, in the black Range Rover
Nasir, tell these motherfuckers what we came for
Tell these niggaz why we here
[Nas]
Nuttin but the New York to Texas connection
Nuttin but some real shit, what y'all expected
Spaz out, some times dreamin, think I'm awoke
Harsh realities of life, hit me after I smoke
Money satisfy half of my mood, then there's a part of me
that's distant, quiet, the most dangerous side of me
I'm twisted like, Dr. Death, Kevorkian
Flip shit, white gun handle, made of porcelain
My, Houston niggaz, come through for niggaz
Scarface get a call and we shootin niggaz
Favor, for a favor, that's how we do business
Tryin to make future figures, we two of the illest, what?
[Chorus: Nas]
You wet who I want wetted, I'll wet who you want wetted
Any nigga can get it (a favor for a favor) [3X]
I'll wet who you want wetted, you wet who I want wetted
Any nigga can get it
[Scarface]
You say you got a problem? Then tell a nigga where he at
So I can study his motions and peel his motherfuckin cap
Where his brother go to school at? Find out some more information
bout that bitch and hit a nigga right back
Cause when it come down to the come down;
I'ma pull the motherfuckin plug on him
Walk up to his face and then gone
Set a example, send these hoes a little message:
They need to be more careful who they mess with, don't even stress it
Leaded, I pull these capers all the time
With the ugliest AK, I blow his motherfuckin mind
Him and whoever standin by, I'll tell these niggaz, "Let's go"
And then we fin' to ride, and he fin' to die
He fin' to die, throwin up his own blood
With a slug in his motherfuckin mug
I do this outta love, cause your money ain't no good here
Just consider that as favor, until I need a favor
[Chorus]
[Nas]
A killer code, secret untold, how we bury beef with a rose
To his wake we send a wreath that explodes
Beneath us sleep with the Reaper, they sleep eyes closed
That's how real Brad Jordan keep it, to him I owe
Five fo-fo's ready, five masks, five mercedes
Attack em like Freddie, then we toastin over spaghetti
I share withcha drama, you share with mine
That's how we killin two birds at the same time
Send my enemy's ear, I'll send your enemy's finger
with a pinkie ring, that's just a present my nigga
Either way the heat is grave, fuck with 'Face we bring war
Either, you feel these bullets or the Texas chainsaw
Not for popularity reasons, but for the love of the art
And you my heart, I leave casualties bleedin
Cause we keep it death for a death, life for a life
Murder for a murder, and I got you it's vice versa
[Chorus]
(A favor for a favor) [3X]

"We Will Survive"
Still somehow I believe, we always survive.. but why?

To my dogs.. wherever you are
Whattup Big? You know shit is rough after you slid
You in God's hands now, keep a place for me kid
Ain't nuttin changed -- still _Party and Bullshit_
We used to +Fuck R&B Bitches+ and see who rhyme sickest
For every hit you made, more rappers afraid to come out
_Machine Gun Funk_, from Queens I came through to smoke blunts
You came to my hood, we was broke
I wonder if we stayed that way, would there have been gunsmoke?
Still on the block around fiends numb from coke, I guess so
Cause now with paper, shit is still ghetto
But fuck it black, you livin your life, though your loved ones
Peace to your daughter and your newborn son
It used to be fun, makin records to see your response
But, now competition is none, now that you're gone
And these niggaz is wrong -- usin your name in vain
And they claim to be New York's king? It ain't about that
It's more serious, I plan to toast it up with you
Joke with you, happy we on top, the most official
Ain't too many real ones out there; I feel some
but doubt they're, capable, to take it where you took it to
I missed your wake not cause I'm fake
cause I hate to see somebody so great in that way
I woulda stayed so long with so much to say
I had to put it in writin to keep me and Brooklyn from fightin
Tellin me to pay my respects and move to the side
But I probably wouldn't have got off my knees to let people by
You can't kill nothin that's _Ready to Die_
You was like God to us in the form of Allah
Still somehow I believe, we always survive.. but why?
[Nas]
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
Thug Life never die..
Dear 'Pac, every thug sheds a tear drop -- and use teeth
to bite off beer tops, and _Pour Out a Lil' Liquor_
You was more than just the wildest nigga
+2Pacalypse+, I understand your style nigga
It's goin on the third year, since you've been gone
On the East and West Coast the same shit is goin on
The industry be talkin, offendin me often
They don't believe you dead, wanna see you in your coffin
I can relate, shootouts and court dates
+All Eyez on You+, niggaz in your face invadin your space
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"
We had words cause the best supposed to clash at the top
but kept it brotherly, when we seen each other and stopped
in NYC, at MTV, people watched
We was both deep, after you left, I got no sleep
Think about how us real niggaz would be
If we united, a nation of thugs, who could fight it?
You was caught in a wild homicide, or were you crucified
like the son of God, when Lucifer lied
and make the world think, young blacks should be extinct?
But Thug Life'll never die, we stay high and just link
Will there ever be another MC as nice?
Will you return to us like the resurrection of Christ?
Still somehow I believe, we always survive.. but why?
[Nas]
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
I wonder what the Commodores went through on tour?
Did Smokey Robinson, have to shoot his way out a war?
What has Al Green seen, that made him religious?
Was it the drugs -- put an end to the music business?
If so, should I put out the indo right now and write down
a plan and pursue my dream turn my life around
Cause I'm bound for the movie screen, cuties that scream
I'll need a extra Uzi riding through my own hood in Queens
It be the ones you always knew, that want it on
Tellin everybody it was him, that you fronted on
Thought we walked a million miles it was just twenty
Not used to walkin in the path of legit money
I thought I made it but we only took baby steps
Up the success ladder, where they pay me checks
To my clicks when I got it I said "Baby bless"
That was the 80's, but now look at this crazy mess
We in the 90's, and finally it's lookin good
Hip-hop took it to billions, I knew we would
A lot of ups and downs in the game, could lose or gain
a couple pounds tryin to maintain -- one day you here
the next you not; when you around niggaz, check 'em out
Some is bout it, most individuals plots
and run the spots, some choose to stay to theyselves
While others have no cares and stay in jail
More than fifty percent of us
endin up with holes through the chest
through the head, through the gut it shows
The future for us young shooters and old killers
Who become rich as dope dealers?
Nothing left for us but hoop dreams and hood tournaments
Thug coaches with subs sittin on the bench; either that or rap
We want the fast way outta this trap
Whether it be 9 to 5 or slangin crack
To my deceased Gods wishin I could bring you back
But life is a dream and y'all taught me that
.. always survive.. but why?
[Nas]
Always survive, always
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my people just stay alive
Still, we, will survive (no matter what)
Still, we, will survive (no matter what)
Still, we, will survive
No matter what, my niggaz just stay alive

"Ghetto Prisoners"

Uhh.. regulate nigga
Bravehearts nigga
Live for this
Some of y'all don't live at all
Get yours nigga
Get yours baby
Uhh, yo.. yo..
As the night close down on the Earth like gray dark rings
Light of cities in the nights, destination for Kings
with big dreams, like Castro, overthrew Bautista
from Cuba, and pointed nukes toward the U.S.
About to shoot us for revolution; that's how you gotta move
A lot of rules, some locked in solitude
Curse the day of they birth confused, who's to be praised?
The mighty dollar -- or almighty Allah
I'm like the farmer, plantin words, people are seeds
My truth is the soil; help you grow like trees
May the children come in all colors, change like leaves
but hold before you, one of those, prophetic MC's
with blunted flows, seven hundred souls in me
Each channelin, from past to present times, heaven shines
light on those, innocent to how the world grows
Some men become murderers, and some girls become hoes
And you accounted for, everything that you heard
Do not speak to fools; they scorn the wisdom of your words
My heart is wise, bloodshot eyes, the saga never dies
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners..
Yo we gotta be God's children, habitats in tall buildings
Rats crawl in filthy hallways, incinerators
Sinners who faithless, still there's hope, pray it's answered
Dreams turned real - what's a wicked nation?
One with blind men - not takin charge of the situation
Empty arguments and real conversations needed
The world'll need it, to hear it
Evil tries to weaken my spirit - it's chronic herb
This hurt come from the honest word
I now try hardest to serve my maker, what I learned
find it's way on the paper, so I could dictate it
Articulate it, luckily - I was put on one of the ships that made it
through strong currents and winds that left the others stranded
to sink in the Atlantic
Satan jigs the planet, not to get too religious, but
who decides when and if your life is finished?
If Christ is in this, for the sake of your name, oh Lord
may we break away from the chains abroad
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners.. get up, wake up, rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners..
You wanna buy time? I'm the seller of minutes
I give you every second low-priced, if I so lies; the truth is
Time waits for none of you, in fact
he can't wait for the date to snatch the ground right from under you
Small visions of better life if cheddar was right
lurk in the mind, of young ones ahead of they time
Trapped in the slums, beggin for nuttin but takin
Headed for nuttin but the state pen, where they cousins be waitin
Judges is not relatin to pleas, guns bustin where the kids play
Richochet off lamp poles and leave damp holes
in bystanders, get cancelled, D.O.A.
Around the way where we from
Hope the future reduce the rate of those buried young
Life is every man's kingdom, a dyin man's past
and a newborn's, first time to be here at last
And shouldn't have to grow up fast, and suffer our pain
Hustlin harder than the generations here before he came
Goin through the same bullshit as our fathers
Readin history, but who's the authors?
For some the game is easy, for most of us the game is much harder
But never lose faith; through the years just get smarter
Ghetto prisoners.. ghetto prisoners..
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners.. get up, wake up, rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners..