ONE MIC by Nas

Nas one mic from the album StillmaticYo, all I need is one mic, one beat, one stageOne nigga front, my face on the front pageOnly if I had one gun, one girl and one cribOne God to show me how to do things his son didPure, like a cup of virgin blood; mixed with151, one sip'll make a nigga flipWritin names on my hollow tips, plottin shitMad violence who I'm gon' body, this hood politicsAckowledge it, leave bodies chopped in garbagesSeeds watch us, grow up and try to follow usPolice watch us {*siren*} roll up and try knockin usOne knee I ducked, could it be my time is upBut my luck, I got up, the cop shot againBus stop glass bursts, a fiend drops his HeinekenRichochetin between the spots that I'm hidin inBlackin out as I shoot back, fuck gettin hit! [more sirens]This is my hood I'ma rep, to the death of it'til everybody come home, little niggaz is grownHoodrats, don't abortion your womb, we need more warriors soonSip from the star sun and the moonIn this life of police chases street sweepers and coppersStick-up kids with no conscience, leavin victims with doctorsIF YOU REALLY THINK YOU READY TO DIE, WITH NINES OUTTHIS IS WHAT NAS IS BOUT, NIGGA THE TIME IS NOW![whispering again]Yo, all I need is one mic..All I need is one mic.. that's all I needAll I need is one mic.. all I need niggazAll I need is one mic.. yeah[gradually getting louder]All I need is one blunt, one page, and one penOne prayer - tell God forgive for one sinMatter fact maybe more than one, look backat all the hatred against me, fuck alla themJesus died at age 33, there's thirty-three shotsfrom twin glocks there's sixteen apiece, that's thirty-twoWhich means, one of my guns was holdin 17Twenty-seven hit your crew, six went into youEverybody gotta die sometime; hope your funeralnever gets shot up, bullets tear through the innocentNothin is fair, niggaz roll up, shootin from wheelchairsMy heart is racin, tastin revenge in the airI let the shit slide for too many years, too many timesNow I'm strapped with a couple of macs, too many ninesIf y'all niggaz really wit me get busy load up the semisDo more than just hold it explode the clip until you emptyThere's nothin in our way - they bust, we bust, they rust, we rustLed flyin, feel it? I feel it in my gutTHAT WE TAKE THESE BITCHES TO WAR, LIE 'EM DOWNCAUSE WE STRONGER NOW MY NIGGA THE TIME IS NOW!![whispering again]All I need is one mic.. that's all I need, that's all I needAll I need is one mic.. there's nuttin else in the worldAll I need is one mic.. that's all a nigga need to do his thing y'knowAll I need is one mic..[starting loud this time, getting quieter]ALL I NEED IS ONE LIFE, ONE TRY, ONE BREATH I'M ONE MANWHAT I STAND FOR SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, THEY DON'T UNDERSTANDOr wanna see me on top, too egotisticalTalkin all that slick shit, the same way these bitches doWonder what my secrets is, niggaz'll move on youonly if they know, what your weakness is I have noneToo late to grab guns I'm blastin cause I'm a cool niggaThought I wouldn't have that ass done? Fooled you niggazWhat you call a infinite brawl, eternal souls clashinWar gets deep, some beef is everlastinComplete with thick scars, brothers knifin each otherup in prison yards, drama, where does it start?You know the block was ill as a youngsterEvery night it was like a, cop would get killed body found in the dumpsterFor real a hustler, purchased my Range, niggaz throwin dirt on my nameJealous cause fiends got they work and complainBitches left me cause they thought I was finishedShoulda knew she wasn't true she came to me when her man caught a sentenceDiamonds are blindin, I never make the same mistakesMovin with a change of pace, lighter load, see now the king is straightSwellin my melon cause none of these niggaz realHeard he was, tellin police, how can a kingpin squeal?This is crazy, I'm on the right track I'm finally foundYou need some soul searchin, the time is nowAll I need is one mic.. yeah, yeah yeah yeahAll I need is one mic.. that's all I ever needed in this world, fuck cashAll I need is one mic.. fuck the cars, the jewelryAll I need is one mic.. to spread my voice to the whole world