Nas - The Message lyrics

[Produced by Trackmasters] [Verse 1: Nas] Fake thug, no love, you get the slug CB4 Gusto Your luck low, I didn't know 'til I was drunk though You freak n***as played out, get f**ed and ate out Prostitute turned b**h, I got the gauge out Ninety-six ways I made out, Montana way The Good-F-E-L-L-A, verbal AK spray Dipped attache, jump out the Range, empty out the ashtray A gla** of 'ze, makin mad Ca**ius Clay Red dot plots, murder schemes, 32 shotguns Regulate with my Dunns Seventeen rocks gleam from one ring They let me let y'all n***as know one thing There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King The highlights of livin', Vegas-style roll dice in linen Antera spinnin' on Millenniums Twenty G bets, I'm winning 'em; threats I'm sending 'em Lex with TV sets the minimum Ill s** adrenaline, party with villains A case of Demi-Sec to chase the Henny Wet any clique, with the semi TEC – who want it? Diamonds I flaunt it, chickenheads flock, I lace 'em Fried broiled with basil, taste 'em, crack the legs Way out of formation, it's horizontal how I have 'em f**in' me in the Benz wagon Can it be Vanity from Last Dragon? Grab your gun, it's on though sh** is grimy, real n***as buck in broad daylight With the broke MAC that won't spray right Don't give a f** who they hit as long as the drama's lit Yo, overnight thugs bug ‘cause they ain't promised sh** Hungry-a** hooligans stay on that piranha sh** [Refrain] I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of d**h I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' [Verse 2: Nas] I peeped you frontin', I was in the Jeep sunk in the seat Tinted with heat, beats bumpin' Across the street you was wildin' Talking 'bout how you ran the Island in '89 Laying up, playing the yard with crazy shine I co*ked a baby 9, that n***a gravy mine Clanked him; what was he thinkin' On my corner when it's pay me time? Dug 'em, you owe me, cousin, something told me "Plug him!" So dumb, felt my leg burn then it got numb Spun around and shot one Heard shots and dropped, son, caught a hot one Somebody take this biscuit 'fore the cops come Then they came asking me my name, what the f**? I got stitched up and went through Left the hospital that same night, what Got my gat back, time to backtrack I had the drop so how the f** I get clapped Black was in the Jeep watching all these scenes speed by It was a brown Datsun, and yo, nobody in my hood got one That clown n***a's through, blazin' at his crew daily The Bridge touched me up severely, hear me So when I rhyme it's sincerely yours Be lighting L's, sippin' Coors on all floors in project halls Contemplating war n***as I was cool with before We used to score together, Uptown coppin' the raw But a thug changes and love changes And best friends become strangers, word up [Hook] Y'all know my steelo There ain't an army that could strike back There ain't an army that could strike back There ain't an army that could strike back There ain't an army that could strike back [Outro: Nas (AZ)] Thug n***as, yo, to them thug n***as Getting it on in the world, you know To them n***as that's locked down Doing they thing, surviving, yaknowmsaying? To my thorough n***as New York and worldwide Yo, to the Queensbridge Militia '96 sh**, The Firm clique Illmatic, n***a, It Was Written though It's been a long time coming Y'all fake n***as, trying to copy Better come with the real though, fake a** n***as, yo (They throw us slugs we throwing 'em back, what) Bring the sh** man, live, man (f** that son, word up) 9-6 sh**