[Nas talking]
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"The light is there."
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[Intro: Olu Dara singing]
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See I come from Mississippi
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I was young and runnin' wild
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Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child
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I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas
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I told him as a youngster, he'll be the greatest man alive
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[Verse 1: Nas]
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Let's go!... Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey --
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Tribrary of these rap skits, styles I mastered
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Many brothers snatched it up and tried to match it
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But I'm still number one, everyday real
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Speak what I want, I don't care what y'all feel
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'Cause I'm my own master, my Pop told me be your own boss
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Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez Mississippi
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Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin' busy
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Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
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The history of music on this track
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Born in the game, discovered my father's music
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Like Prince searchin' through boxes of Purple Rain
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But my Minneapolis was The Bridge, home of the Superkids
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Some are well-known, some doin' bids
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I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
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If Pops wouldn't've pulled me back an said yo
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[Olu Dara singing]
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Greatest man alive (Nas: Yeah, turn it up!)
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Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
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[Verse 2: Nas]
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The blues came from gospel, gospel from blues
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Slaves are harmonizin' them ah's and ooh's
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Old school, new school, know school rules
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All these years I been voicin' my blues
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I'm a artist from the start, Hip-Hop guided my heart
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Graffiti on the wall, coulda ended in Spoffard, juvenile delinquent
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But Pops gave me the right type'a tools to think with
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Books to read, like X and stuff
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'Cause the schools said the kids had dyslexia
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In art class I was a compulsive sketcher of
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Teachers in my homeroom, I drew pix to mess them up
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'Cause none'a them would like my style
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Read more books than the curriculum profile
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Said, "Mr. Jones please come get your child
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'Cause he's writin' mad poems and his verses are wild"
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[Olu Dara singing]
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Greatest man ? The great-greatest man alive
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[Verse 3: Nas]
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Hey-Hey-Hey -- My Poppa was not a Rollin' Stone
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He been around the world blowin' his horn, still he came home
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Then he got grown, changed his name to Olu
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Come on, tell 'em 'bout the places you gone to
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[Olu Dara singing]
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I been to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique
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Madagascar, Paris, Greece
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The Middle Africa is where we lived
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Better known as Queenbridge
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[Nas]
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Nas, Nas you don't stop
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Olu Dara in the house, you don't stop
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Muddy Waters' Howling Wolf you don't stop
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From the Blues to Street Hop you don't stop
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Tell 'em Pop
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[Outro: Olu Dara singing / Nas adlibbing]
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See I come from Mississippi (Let 'em know)
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I was young and runnin' wild (Runnin' wild)
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Ended up in New York City (Yeah!)
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Where I had my first child (That's me)
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I named the boy Nasir (Yeah, Daddy!)
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All the boys call him Nas (Luh ya, boy)
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I told him as a youngster
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He'll be the greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
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Greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
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Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
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Rest In Peace Ray Charles
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Bridging The Gap
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Nas |