I want you to close your eyes and vision the most beautiful place in the world if you in the hood on the ghetto street corner come on this journey the best journey acres of land and backyard swimming pools and all that check it out_ i'm capable of anything, my imagination can give me wings to fly like doves over the streets watchin' many things kids walkin' home from school on drug block missionaries pass out papers that read: love God see faces, cases, judges, juries, masons, lawyers and cops i watch because every thugs face is my mirror but this was one in particular this kid he was the vintage stick em up pro 16 years old, did his jail sentence, nowhere to go every mornin calls his comrad to come and get him to smoke he insane, already gone mad blames himself for his setbacks dangerous street corners where his sets at slang from dust to dawn, detectives act like they maniacs chasin' him, his ass was flarin' smokin' like a chimney, on really, of course he not carin' he need a place to go to keep his mind expandin' i give him a helpin' hand, bring him out to Thugz Mansion_every corner, every city there's a place where life's a little busy little Hennessy, laid back and cool every hour, cause it's all good leave all the stress from the world outside every wrong done will be alright nothin but peace, love and street passion, every ghetto needs a thug mansion_(tupac)dear momma don't cry, your baby boy's doin good tell the homies i'm in heaven and they ain't got hoods seen a show with marvin gaye last night, it had me shook drinkin peppermint schnapps, with jackie wilson and sam cookethen some lady named billie holiday sang sittin there kickin it with malcolm, 'til the day came little latasha sho' grown tell the lady in the liquor store that she's forgiven, so come home maybe in time you'll understand only God can save us when miles davis cuttin lose with the band just think of all the people that you knew in the past that passed on, they in heaven, found peace at last picture a place that they exist, together there has to be a place better than this, in heaven so right before i sleep, dear God, what i'm askin remember this face, save me a place, in thug's mansion/every corner, every city there's a place where life's a little busy little Hennessy, laid back and cool every hour, cause it's all good leave all the stress from the world outside every wrong done will be alright nothin but peace, love and street passion, every ghetto needs a thug mansion_(nas)a place where death doesn't reside, just thugs who collide not to start beef but spark trees, no cops rollin by no policemen, no homicide, no chalk on the streets no reason, for nobody's momma to cry see I'm a good guy, i'm tryin to stick around for my daughter but if I should die, i know all of my albums support her this whole year's been crazy, asked the Holy Spirit to save me only difference from me and Ossie Davis, gray hair maybe cause i feel like my eyes saw too much sufferin i'm just twenty-some-odd years, i done lost my mother and i cried tears of joy, I know she smiles on her boy i dream of you more, my love goes to afeni shakur cause like ann jones, she raised a ghetto king in a war and just for that alone she shouldn't feel no pain no more cause one day we'll all be together, sippin heavnly champagne what angels saw, with golden wings in thug's mansion_every corner, every city there's a place where life's a little busy little Hennessy, laid back and cool every hour, cause it's all good leave all the stress from the world outside every wrong done will be alright nothin but peace, love and street passion, every ghetto needs a thug mansion

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( bio taken from nas' official website )

In 2001, with his platinum-selling Stillmatic, Nas created a classicchronicle of the streets and reclaimed his title as King of New York Rap --the city's best MC and most authentic hip-hop hero. But Nas has always toldthose who listened close that the name of the game for him was never money,cash, or hoes. For Nas knowledge is king: knowledge of the world, of therap game, and most important, knowledge of self. So it's only fitting thatthis year's new testament, God's Son, should showcase a deeper and moremature lyrical journey.

The past year of Nas' life has seen both enormous success and personaltragedy. Following the release of Stillmatic came his heavily praisedcompilation The Lost Tapes. But during the year, Nas also lost his belovedmother to cancer and this tragedy affected him more than any musicalsuccess or failure possibly could. God's Son might be the first hardcorehip-hop album that also pays loving tribute to the artist's mother. On thealbum's final two tracks, "Dance" and "Heaven," Nas depicts, withheartbreaking honesty, the emotions his mother's death evoked: sadness anddespair and fear, but also love and hope and bittersweet memories.

But before Nas gets to the more serious business at hand there are somescores to settle first. God's Son's lead single, "Made You Look," is aslice of hardcore street hip-hop that's been blasting from every car onevery corner in every hood since the moment it dropped. "You a slave to apage in my rhyme book" is Nas' take on all the backstabbing pretenderswho've come after him in the past few years. On "The Cross" -- produced byEminem -- Nas mentions no names but takes deadly aim at phony thugs and R&Bpseudo-rappers. "The Cross" is Nas' proclamation of the unmatched wisdomand experience he's gained in his struggle to the top. "There's a new kingof the streets/I was the old king of the streets that y'all once hated/andnow I reinvented myself and y'all waited." "Last Real Nigga Alive" providesa detailed history of Nas' entire career as well as his relationship withthe late Notorious B.I.G. and his over-hyped feud with Jay-Z. Here Nasdescribes himself as the rapper's rapper: the one that real heads willalways be sure to choose in a battle.

Nas has always been considered a gifted MC since his voice first graced waxin 1991 on Main Source's "Live at the BBQ." This cameo led to Nas' classicdebut lllmatic, in which Nas painted unforgettable portraits of hishustlin' days in the notorious Queensbridge Projects while vividlydetailing the struggles of everyday ghetto living. The Village Voice hailedNas as "easily one of the most important writers of the century." On hismulti-platinum-selling albums It Was Written (1996) and I Am... (1999) andthe platinum Nastradamus (1999), Nas went on to pioneer the Mafioso trendin rap, writing songs as dense and action-packed as a gangster movie, whileworking with some of the biggest stars in the hip-hop galaxy. 2001'sStillmatic -- featuring the hit single "One Mic" -- reminded everyone whomay've forgotten that Nas was still a lyrical force to be reckoned with.Nas' resume boasts a dozen years of hip-hop experience which encompassessix solo albums and various group projects -- a span of success unmatchedby any hardcore MC. It's the wealth of this experience that Nas draws uponto create his seventh full-length album, the groundbreaking God's Son.

"Thugz Mansion" begins with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar andfinds Nas rhyming about helping a young black man in danger, because "everythug's face is my mirror." The second verse is performed by the late TupacShakur -- permission to use this powerful recording was given to Nas by theShakur estate -- and the combination of these two brilliant street poetsrapping together is both eerie and unforgettable. God's Son's mixing of thesacred with the profane is most evident on the album's last few cuts."Warrior Song" -- produced by and featuring Alicia Keys -- presents anunorthodox definition of a warrior: a man who's not only strong in battlebut fully present for his mother and daughter when times are rough. "Dance"is Nas' plaintive desire for just one more dance with his beloved motherand showcases the emotional depth and lyrical complexity that have alwaysbeen his trademarks. The track's haunting coda comes from Olu Dara,internationally famous jazz trumpeter and Nas' father.

On God's Son, Nas has reached a level of lyrical skill and personalmaturity that may be unprecedented in hip-hop. Nas provides a whole newdimension to the often hackneyed phrase "keep it real." "Real" to Nas meansa fully-realized life with all its pains and struggles. Like jazz greatsCharlie Parker or John Coltrane at their peaks, Nas' musical skills growlarger and more complex with each offering. With God's Son, Nas proves onceagain that all he needs is one mic to change the world.

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